Scarred
by fatescanner
Summary: His sister Latias murdered by Team Rocket and himself being horribly scarred, Latios swears to destroy Team Rocket and take revenge for his sister's death, but he knows he can't do it alone…
1. Reports and Plots

**A/N: Hey there everyone! This is my first fanfic which I hope to continue over the next few months. Hope you enjoy it. =**)

**This story is set in an alternate timeline in which Latios survives the events of _Pokémon Heroes_. It takes place a year and four months after the events of _Pokémon Heroes_.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any of its characters. Claiming to do so would be akin to using a Rattata to take on Arceus: completely and utterly ridiculous as well as suicidal.**

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><p><strong>Scarred <strong>

by csigamer1990

**Chapter 1**

**Reports and Plots**

"_The infectiousness of crime is like that of the plague" _- Napolean Bonaparte

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><p>The sun was setting over the suburban landscape that was Viridian City. The picturesque town had an aura of serenity and peace about it; the warm glow of twilight seemed to heighten that feeling.<p>

However, that feeling was lost upon one man in particular. For him, he could care less about the view he was currently observing from the balcony outside his office. He had far more pressing matters on his mind; he couldn't allow anything to distract him from them.

He was dressed in a manner that signified extreme wealth and power, with a black tweed button-down suit with a white undershirt and a red tie with a checkered pattern. There was a red handkerchief sticking out of his breast pocket. He wore black dress pants and sported black wing-tip shoes. His black hair was slicked back on his head and his face seemed to hold a permanent scowl on his features. This man's name was Giovanni, and he was the leader of the Viridian City gym. However, that was only one of the titles that he held, the one that most people knew him by.

What most people did not know was that Giovanni was also the leader of Team Rocket, a major criminal organization with bases established all around the world. Team Rocket were a group whose main source of profit were in the capturing and selling of rare and exotic Pokémon for exorbitant sums of money. Although this was their current goal, it was only to further the progress to their ultimate goal: complete and utter world domination.

They worked to achieve this goal by any means necessary, from espionage and burglary to even murder. They were even known to fund and conduct cruel research programs on Pokémon in order to find ways to unleash a Pokémon's full destructive power so they, in turn, could use it to accomplish their own nefarious purposes.

While they were most prominently featured in the Kanto and Johto regions, there were rumors that Team Rocket's influence had spread to many others such as Hoenn, Sinnoh, and even Unova.

There was even talk of a small chapter being established in the desert region of Orre, although this was met with some skepticism. "Why would a major criminal organization such as Team Rocket bother to establish a base in a wasteland such as Orre?" some would say.

Their skepticism was well founded. The Orre region was mostly barren desert, with a few settlements located here and there. It was an arid environment, mostly devoid of life and easy to get lost in. And once you got lost in the desert, there was little chance that you would make it to your destination alive, as temperatures during the day could skyrocket to over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The nights were no better, with temps dropping to well below freezing.

And then there were the sandstorms. Impossible to predict and just as hard to hide from, the sandstorms of Orre could grow humongous in size. Needless to say, you did not want to get caught in one of them, unless you wanted to spend the next month coughing dust out of your lungs.

This hostile environment translated to little to no ability to support life. Wild Pokémon were rare, and the few that did appear were those that favored the arid environment, such as Cacnea, Flygon, and Sandshrew.

Although these were viable points, it didn't serve to dispel the rumors of a Team Rocket base in the Orre region. Maybe they wanted to keep an eye on that other team down there, Team Cipher, to make sure that they didn't bite off more than they could chew? Maybe they were drawn by talk of legendary Pokémon being sighted in the area? Or maybe it was simply the fact that since Team Rocket had their hooks into every other region, why _not_ have a base in Orre?

Whatever the reason, it was clear that Giovanni was a man of power, one who was feared by his enemies as well as his subordinates.

He continued to watch the sun set for a while, and then turned away, heading through the open sliding-glass door back into his office. He didn't bother to close it; it was a rather warm day outside and he appreciated the breeze coming through the open door.

His office was atypical for one of his stature, very spacious with some assorted fineries dotted around the room: potted plants in the corners, some paintings adorning the walls, all done by big-name artists, and a liquor cabinet behind his desk stocked with some of the best alcoholic beverages from around the world.

His desk was very neatly organized, the papers he read to keep track of various legal activities all either in a bin marked "In" for those he hadn't read yet, or "Out" for those he was finished with. The papers that kept track of his more illegal activities he kept in a compartment under his desk that only he knew about. You could never be too careful, he thought, what with the damned police snooping around, sending in moles to infiltrate the organization. They still hadn't managed to trace the activities to him though, so he made sure that his identity remained a secret to everyone but his top ranking executives, to everyone else in the organization he was simply referred to as "The Boss".

He also never signed any letters he used when communicating with members of the organization with his full name, opting instead for just using the letter "G."

Also among the things on his desk were a lamp, an intercom, a small fan, a computer, and a glass of whiskey with ice in it, which he took a sip from now, still thinking of the day's events.

His prized Persian was currently lounging in its bed at the side of his desk. It now proceeded to get up and walked over to his Master, nuzzling him affectionately. Giovanni, distracted from his musings, allowed himself a small smile as he petted the cat Pokémon's head. The Persian purred in contentment, leaning into the contact, enjoying it immensely.

Giovanni admitted to himself that his Persian was one of the few things in his life that brought him happiness, the others being money, his power as the boss of Team Rocket, and the occasional Gym Battle, the ones that actually proved challenging. True, he had many other Pokémon in his possession, all of them extremely powerful and loyal, but none of them seemed to bring him the same amount of happiness that his Persian brought him.

Just then, there was a buzz from the intercom. Setting his drink down, Giovanni pressed the button that worked the intercom.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked in a slightly irritated voice.

"Mister Giovanni, I'm sorry to disturb you, but two women by the names of Annie and Oakley are here to see you. They say they have important matters to discuss that require your attention." his secretary answered.

Giovanni was taken aback by this; he had received word that Agents Annie and Oakley had been captured during the last mission he had sent them on, to head to the island city of Alto Mare and find out what they could about something called the 'Soul Dew', a magnificent jewel of extraordinary beauty and power, said to contain the soul of a Latios, a legendary Pokémon. They were then tasked with tracking down the Soul Dew and to retrieve it to bring it back to Rocket HQ where its power could be studied, as well as to keep an eye out for the guardians of the Soul Dew, Latios and Latias, and to capture them if possible. However, they had lost contact with Agents Annie and Oakley a few days into the mission, and it was presumed they had been captured. But it now seemed like they had escaped.

"Mister Giovanni? Should I let them in?" his secretary said over the intercom, bringing Giovanni back to his senses.

"I see. Very well, let them in" he said. '_Perhaps now I'll get some answers_' he thought.

"Right away, Mister Giovanni." said the secretary.

The door to Giovanni's office opened, and his secretary showed two women in before closing the door. One of them had her blonde hair in a twin bun formation and the other had blue hair styled to the sides. Both were wearing black tank tops with black leather pants and high heel shoes.

Giovanni motioned toward two leather chairs in front of his desk. "Please, sit down." Annie and Oakley graciously accepted his offer and sat down in the chairs.

"Well, ladies, while I am pleased to see you back, I am curious as to the circumstances that led you here. The last I heard, you two had been captured during the last mission I sent you on and were incarcerated. I'd appreciate it if you filled in the blanks for me." A sudden thought came to Giovanni's mind that filled him with dread. '_Perhaps they've been released to spy on me!_'

"Well, you were correct in guessing that we were captured, sir. Me and my sister were indeed in prison for the last few months." said Annie.

"And let me tell you, it is _not_ an experience I or my sister wants to repeat." Oakley said with a look of disgust on her face. The small cell, the uncomfortable beds, the horrible food, and the perverted guards were all bad enough. And then there were the lesbians. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down Oakley's spine. She wondered if she'd ever be able to take a shower again without looking over her shoulder. She was grateful that Anny was there to protect her, and she was sure Annie felt the same.

Annie nodded her head before continuing. "Indeed. Oakley and I realized that we couldn't stay there, so it wasn't long that we started making plans to escape. I won't go into the exact details, but let's just say that the prison guards were not the sharpest tools in the shed" she said with a smile.

"Not to mention we were significantly more skilled in unarmed combat than they were" Oakley said with a chuckle.

"After we'd obtained the guard's keys, it was a simple matter of sneaking our way out. We made our way to the roof, where there were some conveniently place power lines that led over the prison wall. We shimmied across and made good our escape." Annie said. She herself was _so_ glad to get out of that drab orange prison jumpsuit, which did not suit her sense of fashion one bit.

"And just to put your mind at ease sir, if you want to confirm our story, I'm sure our escape has made headline news by now." Oakley said with a grin.

Giovanni chuckled at this "I don't doubt it will be." he said. "But there will be time for that later. I guess I should commend you for your daring escape, something even I could not have expected. But then again, I don't see how two of Team Rocket's best field operatives could remain incarcerated for long, so congratulations to both of you."

Annie and Oakley blushed a little at the praise, which coming from the Boss meant a lot. "Thank you, sir!" they both chorused.

"But, there still remains the subject of your failure to discuss." he said, his voice becoming very serious. Annie and Oakley smiles vanished abruptly and they both gulped nervously. Giovanni continued "As I'm sure you both know, this organization does not tolerate failure lightly. I find it very difficult to believe that two of this organization's best field operatives and spies managed to fail in a simple reconnaissance and retrieval mission. I hope you two have a very good explanation for this."

Annie decided to take the initiative in explaining. "Giovanni, sir, let me assure you that I and my sister undertook that mission with the utmost seriousness and that we did everything in our power to accomplish the goal you set us. However, there were a few…_circumstances_…" at this she cast a sharp glare over at her sister, who looked away ashamedly, "that we didn't foresee or were prepared for. If you will hear us out, we'll explain to you what happened. Should I start at the beginning?"

Giovanni leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped together. "Please do."

"Very well, sir." She paused a while to regain her composure before beginning. "As per your orders, Oakley and I proceeded to Alto Mare. We figured that the best place to start searching for info on the Soul Dew and the guardians, Latios and Latias, was to head to the city library. We snuck in at night so as not to attract attention to ourselves and searched the library for anything relating to our target. We eventually came across an old book which contained details on the formation of Alto Mare and the origin of the Soul Dew, as well as some info on Latios and Latias. It also contained instructions on how to operate something called the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare. We'll go into more detail on that later."

"We left before we could discovered by security, taking the book with us, as we figured it might come in handy, and proceeded to Alto Mare so we could begin phase two: locate the Soul Dew and retrieve it and also to subdue and capture Latios and Latias."

"Unfortunately, this proved to be a difficult task, as Alto Mare is a very large city with many inhabitants. Also, from info provided by the book, we found out that the Soul Dew was hidden in a secret location with illusions placed around it to protect it from prying eyes, its location only known to its guardians and their caretakers."

"As if that weren't enough of a problem, the book also informed us that Latios and Latias, in addition to being powerful Pokémon of Dragon and Psychic typing, were also capable of shape-shifting into a human form as well as having the annoying ability to turn invisible, making our job that much harder."

"Fortunately, we came prepared for such a snag. Using the Devon Scope devices you provided us, we were finally able to track down one of the Eon twins in human disguise along one of the city's waterways. It had taken the form of a girl, so we assumed that it was Latias, the female twin. We must've spooked it, because it immediately started running away once it caught sight of us. My sister and I released our Pokémon, Ariados and Espeon, to give chase."

"Things seemed to be going well, as Ariados and Espeon caught up with her after a while and had managed to subdue her. But then, all of a sudden, we were interrupted by this punk Trainer and his Pikachu. When he saw our Pokémon restraining Latias (although he probably thought it was just some girl), he ordered us to let her go. We didn't take him seriously, which quickly backfired on us. His Pikachu was able to subdue both of our Pokémon all by itself! Needless to say, we were shocked. Literally as well as mentally, I might add."

'_And goddamn if that Pikachu's Thunderbolt didn't hurt like hell' _Annie mused to herself. _'And I paid $500 for that outfit too…' _she thought angrily, recalling the outfit that was ruined as a result of falling into the waterway by way of the Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

"Anyway, this kid's interference allowed him to escape with Latias. Although we sent our Pokémon after them, they still managed to slip through our fingers." she continued, a trace of anger apparent in her voice.

"And who exactly was this Trainer that was able two of my best operatives such difficulty?" asked an amused Giovanni, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"We found out afterwards that the Trainer's name was Ash Ketchum, and that apparently he hails from the small hamlet of Pallet not too far from here." Annie said while gesturing out the window of Giovanni's office, which faced towards Route 1, the road that led from Viridian City to Pallet Town and vice versa.

"Ketchum…hmm, the name seems oddly familiar, though I can't seem to recall where I heard it." Giovanni also had the strangest feeling that he and this Ketchum character had met in the past, but as he tried to remember the occasion, his mind just came up blank. He couldn't seem to recall where and when he had met this boy, yet the feeling of having met him remained, a specter in the back of his mind.

"That hardly surprises us; the boy has quite the reputation as a Trainer, having reached the top sixteen in the Kanto League and the top eight in the Johto League Silver Conference as well as being an Orange League Champion. And I believe even as we speak he is about to make his run in the Hoenn League Ever Grande Conference. The boy also has a knack for playing the hero; he always seems to show up when something big is about to happen, especially when Legendary Pokémon are involved. It seems our encounter was no different. If you'd like to read about his exploits in detail, sir, my sister and I took the liberty of putting all the info we could get on him and put it in this folder for you to read at your convenience." said Annie. At this, Oakley produced a folder she had been carrying and placed it on Giovanni's desk.

Giovanni took the folder and opened it to briefly glace at it. The first thing that caught his eye was the picture at the top. It depicted a boy, no more than twelve or thirteen, Giovanni thought, with brown eyes and jet-black hair that stuck out at the sides. He had on a cap that was mostly red in color, with a streak of black running down the middle. In the middle of the black area was a design that looked like the top half of a Poké Ball, green in color. He was smiling in the photo; a smile that Giovanni thought exuded a sort of calm confidence. The rest of the report contained various bits of information regarding Ash and his known accomplishments.

Giovanni looked up from the report and stared at Annie and Oakley, a questioning look plain on his features. "And how exactly did you find this much info?" he asked, holding up the report.

"Internet." They both chorused, shrugging their shoulders as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Giovanni sweatdropped at this. "Err…yes, well, I'll make sure to look it over later." he said, dropping the folder on his desk before continuing "The last thing we need is idiot Trainers meddling in our affairs. But this is a matter to be dealt with another time; continue with your report."

Nodding her head, Annie continued, "Well, after Ketchum escaped with Latias, we knew that Latias would probably be on the lookout for us from now on, as well as Latios, so we figured the best course of action would be to track Ketchum as he wandered around the city. The way we saw it, Latias would eventually reveal herself to Ketchum to thank him. It's the classic damsel-in-distress routine: guy saves girl in trouble, the girl in turn falls for him. Granted, it was a long shot at best, but our instincts proved right. Latias came to Ash in human form and led him to a spot in the city that at first seemed pretty benign, although Latias proved looks can be deceiving when she and Ash, along with his Pikachu, seemed to vanish into thin air when they walked into one of the walls surrounding the courtyard. It led to some sort of garden that Latios and Latias used as a safe haven. We couldn't believe our luck; this was definitely the secret spot where the Soul Dew was hidden!"

"Waiting until night, Oakley and I proceeded to the location where the entrance to the garden was. Once inside, it didn't take long for us to be noticed. Latios and Latias engaged us in battle, but it didn't take long for their inexperience in battling to show. We were able to subdue Latios with a capture net; however, Latias managed to get away with some help from Latios. We didn't see her escape as a big deal; we could always catch her later. Right then we had more important things to attend to."

"On a pedestal in the middle of the garden, we found the Soul Dew. It was pretty obvious that this was the mystical jewel of legend, judging by its appearance alone." Anny said with a dreamy look in her eye. She remembered how the jewel had glowed with what seemed to be a blue spiritual light from within. It had been the most beautiful thing she had laid eyes upon, and when it came to beauty, Annie was an expert.

"After some prying, we retrieved the Soul Dew from its resting place. We also found some runes nearby which gave detailed instructions on how the Soul Dew activates and powers the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare." she said.

Giovanni decided to interrupt at this moment "And what exactly was this Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare? I seem to recall you mentioning it earlier, although I don't remember it being in your mission parameters."

"Well, the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare, or DMA for short, was a machine built many thousands of years ago. Its purpose was to protect Alto Mare should any danger arise to threaten the city. However, it was only supposed to be used as a last resort, as activating it would cause the water levels in the city to recede and would in turn destroy the Soul Dew, which, along with one of the Eon twins, was required to activate it. But don't ask me, Oakley's the real expert. Isn't that right, Oakley?" Annie finished with a sarcastic tone in her voice as she glanced at Oakley.

"Dammit, Annie, it wasn't my fault!" Oakley snapped.

"Oh, please, Oakley. Whose idea was it in the first place? It certainly wasn't me; I was content with just the Soul Dew and the Latios. It was you who decided to break mission parameters by using the DMA, and what a fat load of good it did us in the end!" Annie scoffed at her sister.

Oakley jumped out of her seat and stood facing her sister, a look of rage on her face, her hands clenched at her sides. "Do you really think I meant for it to happen like that? I keep telling you, it was the machine! It was like it was controlling me or something!" she yelled.

Annie, however, remained calm and in her seat. She smugly smiled as she closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. "I find that rather hard to believe, my dear sister. I and pretty much everyone else in Team Rocket could tell right from the start that you always wanted more, wanted to prove you were better than everyone else. You wanted the executive lifestyle, wanted to be the one to give the orders, the one in control. And when you saw the DMA, I think it gave you the opportunity you'd been waiting for; the chance for that power rush you wanted sooo bad…"

Oakley was about to angrily retort when Giovanni slammed his fist down on his desk, immediately ending the argument and causing the ladies to snap back to attention.

"ENOUGH! I will not tolerate your petty squabbles when you're in my office!" Giovanni yelled.

"Y-yes sir!" both ladies stammered nervously.

Giovanni stared intently at them to make sure his point was understood. Satisfied that they had, he leaned back and closed his eyes while rubbing a hand on his temple. "Any differences you two might have must be resolved on your own time. I can't tell you how much I _do not_ need the extra strain right now." he said wearily.

"Very well, sir." the two lady agents chorused, although it was clear from the looks of venom they gave each other that said differences would not get resolved anytime soon.

"So…I am to gather that you went to activate this DMA, correct? And that the power of this machine caused Agent Oakley here to lose all control of her senses when she used it?" Giovanni gestured toward Oakley, who bowed her head ashamedly.

"That's the gist of it, yes sir." Annie nodded in confirmation.

"So how did you wind up in prison?" Giovanni asked.

"Well, remember when we said that Latias had escaped earlier? Apparently, she went to get help, and who better to help her than Ash Ketchum?"

"He showed up with his Pikachu and Latias, and with Latias' help, managed to free Latios and in turn, power down the DMA. When this happened, I went to get Oakley out of the DMA, but then some freak accident occurred. The DMA started malfunctioning, and in turn sealed the entrance to the DMA control center, trapping me and Oakley inside."

"The events that occurred after that are a mystery to us. It wasn't until much later that we were retrieved by the local police. In court, we were charged with reckless endangerment of the city, although I do not know how we endangered it, endangerment and attempted kidnapping of the guardians of Alto Mare, and the stealing of a precious artifact sacred to the city. The fact that we were wanted members of Team Rocket did not do us any favors. We were sentenced to 50 years in prison with no possibility of parole, and shipped off to a prison in Kanto to serve our sentence. Until we decided to escape, that is."

"And that is what happened. I hope it answers your questions." Annie finished.

Giovanni rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I admit, it is interesting tale of events. But I must ask: What became of the Eon twins and the Soul Dew?"

"As far as we could tell, both of them survived, as we didn't observe any grieving faces in the courtroom, and the fact that we were charged with endangerment and not murder attributes to that fact. As for the Soul Dew, I assume it was restored, probably with some help from Latios or Latias." Annie answered.

At this moment, Annie decided to ask the question that she had been meaning to ask. "Sir, that fact brings us to the other reason we're here. With your permission, we'd like to have another shot at completing our mission in Alto Mare."

Giovanni was greatly surprised at this. "And why would you want to have another shot at it, seeing as you failed on the first attempt? And why should I even let you?" he asked.

Annie smiled. "Because, sir, we don't like to leave jobs unfinished. We'd also like to get payback on those two dragons for the last time. And this time, there'll be no idiot Trainers around to interfere. And I'll make sure to keep a closer eye on my sister this time, trust me." At this a vein of anger appeared on Oakley's forehead, but she managed to keep quiet. "As to why you should let us, keep in mind sir that these are two Legendary Pokémon and could prove invaluable to your future plans. As for the Soul Dew, it's a legendary artifact that the city of Alto Mare holds very dear. I'm sure that if we were to ransom it off, the city would pay any price to get it back. And I mean _any _price."

Giovanni hummed in thought. "You know that the police and the guardians will be watching for you, right? And that they'll probably know what to expect this time?" he asked them.

"Oh, no doubt they'll be watching for us, sir. But you forget that we're the best in the organization at what we do: remaining undetected. The police will not be a problem; they've never been able to catch us until recently. And besides, this time we won't be alone. We were hoping to have some additional support this time around to help subdue the Legendaries. I don't doubt that in the few months that have passed that they've taken care to improve their battle capabilities and might pose a problem if just me and Oakley were to take them on this time. But if we had some additional support, we'll be able to overwhelm them with sheer numbers and be able to capture them easily." Annie explained.

Giovanni pondered this for a while before announcing his decision. "Very well, you've convinced me. You will have another shot to get this right, along with the support you've requested. You will leave for Alto Mare in a few days' time. Your mission goals remain the same: retrieve the Soul Dew and subdue and capture Latios and/or Latias. And this time I'd prefer it if you stick to your mission parameters and not be sidetracked by delusions of grandeur and power." he said as he glared at Oakley.

At this, both Annie and Oakley rose from their seats. "Thank you for giving us another opportunity, sir. This time we'll make sure we don't fail you." Annie said as they both saluted and turned to leave.

"See that you don't. I don't need to remind you both that this organization does not tolerate failure lightly. I'm giving you a second chance to make up for your previous failure; do not make me regret it by failing me again, or the consequences will be…_painful_." Giovanni said darkly.

"Don't worry sir; you have our word that we will not fail you again." Annie said solemnly over her shoulder as she opened the door and allowed Oakley to leave first before exiting herself, closing the door shut behind her.

When they had left, Giovanni turned in his chair and idly sipped his drink as he watched the sun continue to set over the horizon, its golden glow eerily giving the sky a blood-red color as it sank beneath the trees of Route 1.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, I hope you liked my first chapter! Next chapter I'll introduce our protagonist, which as my summary says, is Latios. **

**And just to be clear, this is going to be a revenge story, so its bound to get pretty dark and brutal in the some of the coming chapters. By chapter 3 it'll probably be bumped up to an M rating, so people who do not like bloody tales of revenge should probably stay away. But if you've got no qualms against violence, then you're in for one hell of a ride! (or so I hope...) **

**Anyway, please let me know what you think in a review! Thanks!**


	2. Calm before the Storm

**It took a little while, but here's the second chapter! Enjoy!**

**Thanks go out to my friend ARCEUS-master for his help with this chapter. If you haven't already seen it, I highly suggest you check out his awesome fic "A New Chance at Life", which he is currently planning the sequel to. Thank you, my friend, for taking your time to help out a humble starting author like myself! **

**I'd also like to thank Ardtornismyname for his ideas on future chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters.**

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"_Telepathy"_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

**Calm before the Storm**

"_Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet." – _Vietnamese proverb

Earlier that same day…

The sun was shining down on the beautiful island city of Alto Mare. The Venetian-like city was a marvel to behold, with its many canals winding throughout the city on all sides. Gondoliers ferried passengers to and from their destinations via these waterways as it was the best way to get around the expansive city.

The city was a hive of activity, with people walking up and down the cobbled streets, admiring the sights and browsing the many shops and stalls that adorned the streets, each of them selling a wide variety of goods. There were also many restaurants and cafes around the city in which people ate and talked amongst themselves both inside and outside.

Most of the buildings in the city were made from a white stone, and had green shingles adorning the roofs. A lot of the buildings had balconies for when people needed some fresh air, or simply just to admire the view along the canals. Ivy creepers hung from a lot of these balconies, sometimes running down the walls all the way to the ground. There were numerous small gardens around the city with trees and flowers of many varieties growing in them. The buildings varied in size, getting bigger as you got to the center of town, which had the main plaza and the Alto Mare museum in it, an immense three-story building adorned with tall spires at the sides of the triangle shaped entrance, oval shaped open air windows on the second floor, and an ornate dome-shaped third floor with an interlocking triangle shaped design running along the sides with beautiful oval shaped windows in the middle, with smaller oval shaped windows above those and a cone shaped spire adorning it all. Inside, the museum truly was a work of art, its style reminiscent of that of old world cathedrals, with intricate designs lining the walls of the humongous main atrium, with tall support pillars along its sides. Light flowed in from windows placed along the top of the side walls, while tourists and their children milled around, looking at the different exhibits whilst admiring or just staring in awe at the sheer magnificence and beauty of the museum.

This museum told the history of Alto Mare and how the first Guardian had saved the city from imminent destruction by defeating an evil trainer bent on world domination with her two Pokémon, the Fossil Pokémon Aerodactyl and Kabutops, sacrificing his life in the process, but not before leaving the inhabitants with one last gift: a mystical jewel known as the Soul Dew, which contained the Guardian's spiritual essence within it. This jewel would ensure peace and prosperity for the city as long as it remained undisturbed, which was kind of a moot point as no one in the city knew where it was located, save for its guardians, Latios and Latias, the Legendary twin Eon Pokémon, said to be the descendants of the first Guardian of legend, and their caretakers, whose identity remained a mystery to the people of the city. No one could blame them for keeping their identities secret; they were charged with the care and wellbeing of two rare and powerful Pokémon, as well as keeping the location of the Soul Dew a secret. Such information could bring great harm to the city if it were to fall into the wrong hands.

One thing of note in the museum were the two fossils that lay in the center of the main atrium. One of them depicted a creature of apparent flying capability, judging by the narrow wing bones with a small prehensile claw apparent on the second joint of each wing that extended from the body, with ribs and a spine and what looked like a small dorsal plate on the back being apparent there. The tail bone was long and tapering, ending with a barb-like protrusion. The bones for the feet seemed rather short and stubby, although one look at the sharp and dangerous talons on the ends of each of the two-toed feet was enough to prove that they weren't just there for show. And finally, the skull was vaguely rectangular in shape, particularly the beak. Towards the back, the skull slightly curved upwards, where the empty eye sockets were located, as well as two small horn-like protrusions. The inside of the beak was lined with rows of sharp, serrated teeth not unlike those of a shark which could, by shaking the head quickly from side to side, could easily rip and tear through the flesh and bone of prey animals as easily as a hot knife through butter, clearly identifying the creature as a formidable predator of prehistoric times.

The other fossil depicted a creature that held a resemblance to ancient shellfish. The most distinguishing feature of the fossil were the two sickle-shaped claws, quite like those of a Scyther, that acted as the creature's main natural weapons, used for slicing and dicing prey. The claws were attached to a carapace made up of several bony plates on the front side, and six hard spikes on the backside, three on each side of the body which ran from the base of the neck to the beginning of the tail, which was rather short and pointed. The legs seemed to be longer than the majority of the body, ending with two-clawed feet. And finally, the head was roughly diamond-shaped and flat, with two narrow, empty eye sockets. This creature, which seemed to have evolved legs to adapt to a more terrestrial lifestyle, nevertheless could just as easily be at home in the sea should it chose, making it a predator to be feared on both land and sea.

These were the remains of the ancient Fossil Pokémon Aerodactyl and Kabutops, who, along with their evil power-hungry trainer, had nearly brought the city to its knees, were it not for the intervention of the first Guardian, who called upon the waters of the city to drown both Pokémon and their corrupt trainer, saving the city from a terrible fate, although at the cost of his own life.

The other thing of note in the museum was further inside, in a smaller, separate atrium. Surrounded on all sides by tall black metal pillars covered in strange designs sat an unusual looking machine of an extremely complex and strange design. But although its appearance may baffle onlookers and cause many an eyebrow to be raised, one could not help but repress a shudder when informed of its purpose and of the immense power it could command; of the immense destruction it could wrought if in the wrong hands.

This was the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare, or DMA for short, as locals tended to call it. This machine was constructed many thousands of years ago, although the exact nature of its origin and construction remain unknown. Its sole purpose was in the protection and defense of Alto Mare from invading threats. The power it possessed allowed users to seal off portions of the city, bend the very water around the city and shape it according to the user's whim, and even bring that which has died back to life to aid in the defense of Alto Mare.

The problem was, should weak-minded people or those with evil in their hearts attempt to use the machine, chances were that the immense power of the machine to go mad with power and turn on the city, seeking to use the machine to accomplish their own ends.

Thus, the machine was supposed to be used strictly as a last resort, and only then by those who were trusted to be able to use the machine without being corrupted by its power.

Finally, in order to activate the machine, two things were required: The legendary Soul Dew, and one of the Eon Twins, Latios or Latias. To obtain these things, the Guardian's caretakers permission must be obtained, which is never easy, since the activation of the DMA results in the destruction of the Soul Dew, and seeing as the Soul Dew also helps maintain the city's water level, a new Soul Dew must be created in order to preserve the city, namely, using the soul of the sacrificed Eon Twin in its construction; a very high price, indeed.

Up until recently, the city had, thankfully, never had need of it. Until the whole fiasco with Team Rocket, that is.

Aside from the museum, there was one other major landmark of note in the city: the twin statues of the Guardians of Alto Mare, Latios and Latias. The statues were carved from stone, each of them sitting atop immensely high pillars. Rising almost sixty feet high in the air, the statues served as a testament to the city's belief in these Legendary Pokémon, and that they were always watching over the city, ready and willing to protect it should the need arise.

...

High above the city, Latios observed the hustle and bustle of the city below with interest. '_No matter how many times I see it, the sight of Alto Mare from the sky makes me feel blessed to live in such a beautiful and peaceful city'_ he thought to himself with a smile.

He was currently invisible, courtesy of his light-refracting down. However, had he been visible, his figure would've given off the clear impression of a streamlined draconic appearance. The feathers around his body were colored a light shade of blue, while the feathers surrounding his ears, neck, and the area surrounding his claws were a grayish-white in color. Along each side of his back were two wing-shaped appendages, not unlike those of a jet plane, and there were two ridge-like features along his rear side. On the underside of his body, in the center of his chest, there was a small triangle shaped-pattern whose bands were red in color, but was blue in the middle. His arms were rather small in comparison to the rest of his body, but each were armed with three sharp claws, making them effective natural weapons in combat. The outside of his forearms were colored in the same way as his body feathers, while the inside was lined with what looked like banded markings. His neck was long and slender, and his ears pointed upwards and slightly towards his back. Finally, his face was rather small and pointed. The top half of his face was mostly colored a light shade of blue, like his body feathers, but right in the middle of his forehead, in a shape resembling a teardrop, was an area that was colored in the same way as his neck and arm regions: a grayish-white. His eyes were narrow, with a blood-red colored iris and black pupils. A kind of fierce intenseness lurked behind those eyes; they were the kind that could freeze you with a glare and make you quiver in fear if you happened to be on his bad side.

But currently, anger was the furthest thing from Latios' mind. How could he be angry on a day like this, with the sun shining down as it was, pleasantly warming his feathers, the city below him looking the picture of beauty, with all the inhabitants enjoying the day, and the water looking cool and crystal-clear, the sun creating a lovely dappled shiny effect upon it? It was times like these that made him happy to be alive.

Satisfied with the view, Latios took a deep breath and tucked in his claws to his side and, by deactivating the levitating ability which kept him floating in the air, proceeded to drop straight down in a dizzyingly steep dive towards the ocean. He plummeted towards the ocean like a stone, the wind rushing in his ears and across his face, reveling in the feeling of sheer ecstasy that could only be brought about by dropping ten thousand feet, at speeds of over a hundred twenty miles per hour, which was amplified by the adrenalin coursing through his veins.

As he got closer to the rapidly-approaching ocean surface, he began to narrow his eyes in concentration in preparation for what he was about to do. When he was about fifty feet from crashing into the ocean, he activated his levitating ability again and began pulling out of the dive in a curving motion which caused a visible stir among the waves, the momentum from the long dive sending him shooting him back out towards the sky and out across the city.

As he shot across the sky, he couldn't resist letting loose an excited yell at what he had just done. He started executing barrel rolls in his excitement as the momentum carried him on for a while longer.

Finally, the momentum faded and he winded up floating about fifty feet above the city, a good deal of which he had passed over in his dive-fueled living cannon shot. He took in deep breaths, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart, while at the same time enjoying the euphoria he felt from such an exhilarating dive. _'No matter how many times I do that, I swear I'll never get tired of it' _he thought giddily to himself. _'I wish Latias could've seen that.'_ he added wistfully.

His sister, Latias, was currently off somewhere else. Latios was alright with her wanting to go off alone, he knew that she knew how to take care of herself. Anyway, she wasn't one to enjoy the types of activities that Latios liked to do. She would much rather prefer to wander around the city, enjoying the day and the many things to see and do around the city, as well as pulling the occasional harmless prank every now and then.

Finally calmed down, Latios decided to continue with his daily patrol around the city. Although it wasn't so much a patrol as it was aimless wandering, he still felt it his duty to check around the city, making sure that all was well. It was, after all, his and his sister's duty to protect Alto Mare. Ever since the attack on the city perpetrated by those filthy Team Rocket spies, Annie and Oakley, Latios began taking this duty much more seriously than he had before. He would be damned if he ever let something like that happen again.

With this in mind, he slowly glided off along the canals of the city, zigzagging around corners, under and over archways and bridges, and across busy streets, always keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity as the day continued to wear on.

About three hours later, a little after three in the afternoon, Latios was casually flying down a deserted canal way when he suddenly had the strangest feeling he was being watched. He came to an abrupt stop and began looking suspiciously all around him, checking around in front of him, on the rooftops, and then checking over his shoulder to look behind him. He couldn't see anything; it looked like he was completely alone. But why did he still have that nagging feeling of being watched?

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, he was slammed into from above by a seemingly invisible object going at a tremendous speed. The force in which he was struck caused him to go flying down into the canal, hitting the water with a tremendous splash.

The shock at being taken by surprise caused him to drop his invisibility. He came up spluttering water, shaking his head to clear his senses and to get the water out of his feathers. He started looking around wildly, before turning to glare at the spot where the force had struck him, already knowing who the culprit was. "Alright, sister, I know you're there! Show yourself right now!" he shouted angrily.

Immediately he started to hear fits of laughter coming from the spot he was staring at. The next moment the air around the spot started to shimmer, and in a bright flash of light, his sister, Latias, revealed herself.

In appearance, Latias pretty much had the same body shape as her brother. The main differences between them was that Latias' body feathers were colored a bright shade of red, and the feathers around her neck and arms were a purer color of white than her brother's. She had a slightly smaller build than her brother. The triangle pattern on her chest was colored blue, unlike her brother's, which was red. Her ears were less pointed than her brother's, and the pattern of white on her forehead was of a different shape. Finally, her eyes were wide and round, with an amber-colored iris and black pupils. Her eyes always seemed to sparkle with a kind of youthful, playful exuberance, quite different from her brother's serious and somewhat intimidating stare.

Currently she was rolling around in the air in fits of laughter while her brother stared angrily at her. "Oh ho ho, brother," she began while wiping a tear of laughter from her eye, "you should've seen the look on your face as you came sputtering up out of the water! You were all like "Who? What? Where? Why?"" she said while imitating her brother's voice and actions. "It was so _priceless_!" she finished before beginning to laugh again.

A vein of anger appeared on Latios' forehead as he continued to watch his sister's merriment over her successful prank on him. Suddenly, his anger faded, only to be replaced by a devilish smile and look.

"Ohh, Latias!" he began in a sing-song voice, "you _do _realize what this means, don't you?" he asked in a dangerous tone of voice while his body began to eagerly tense itself.

Latias immediately gave a small "Eek!" of playful panic and zoomed off down the way that Latios had just come, resuming her invisibility as she did so, while Latios took off like a shot after her, quickly drying his feathers with a quick burst of Psychic before resuming invisibility himself, yelling after his sister "Come back here, you little twerp!"

He proceeded to chase his sister for a while along the canals around the city, not prepared to lose her. Even though she was invisible, Latios was able to sense her and her movements with his Psychic abilities. He guessed the reason that she was able to sneak up on him like that was because he wasn't actively trying to sense her, and she had been able to sense this. He mentally scolded himself as he continued to chase Latias across the city, telling himself to be more on the lookout next time, if not for suspicious activity, than at least for a certain prank-loving sister.

As he followed Latias around a bend in a canal way, he got the sense that he was finally gaining on his sister. There wasn't much distance between them now, about twenty feet. Grinning in anticipation, he put on an extra burst of speed, calling out to his sister "Uh-oh, Latias! Getting tired, are we? Why don't you just give up and accept your punishment?"

From over her shoulder, he could hear his sister reply "Ha! You think you've caught me, dear brother? Think again!"

From some hidden reserve of strength, Latias managed to put on an extra burst of speed, lengthening the gap between the two siblings.

Latios gaped in amazement; how had she been able to do that? Quickly regaining his senses, he continued to chase her.

Their chase finally led them to an area that Latios immediately recognized; they were close to the entrance to the secret garden.

His thoughts were confirmed as he saw Latias round a distant corner. As he turned the corner himself, he saw that Latias had apparently disappeared from sight. There was just a nondescript brick wall in front of him, flanked by two buildings on either side. However, knowing better, Latios continued to fly straight at the wall. The wall offered no resistance as he passed through the illusion that hid the entrance to the secret garden to which he and Latias called home.

As he emerged on the other side, the sight of the secret garden greeted him, the mass of lush scenery never failing to impress him. There were humongous oak trees, various types of smaller trees and bushes, and all kinds of beautiful fragrant flowers planted all across the length of the picturesque garden. He was at the top of a walkway that extended all the way to the other end of the garden, at the top of two flights of steps that led to the main area of the garden. There were smaller walkways breaking off from the main one leading into different areas of the garden. There was a small pond apparent on his left side, with lily pads and water rushes lining it. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the canopy of tall oak trees, casting a beautiful dappled effect of shining light throughout the garden.

The garden was home to many other Pokémon besides him and his sister. Even now he could see and hear flocks of Pidgey and Murkrow flitting amongst the trees, calling amongst themselves, the Pidgey with small, sweet sounding chirps, the Murkrow with harsh sounding caws. Dragonfly-like Yanma were gliding in and around the pond region, and various small mammalian Pokémon could be espied frolicking about in the grasses along the garden.

After pausing a while to survey the scenery, Latios decided to get back to the task at hand. He was sure his sister was hiding somewhere around here, he just had to find her, and knowing his sister, that could be pretty hard in and of itself.

He looked around trees, in bushes, and behind boulders in his search for his sister. "Oh, Latias!" he called out in a loud voice, "I know you're here somewhere, and I _will_ find you, even if it takes me all night! We all know how this'll end, so why don't you just come out now and save yourself the trouble of waiting. I promise to go easy on you!" However, after saying the last part, he gave a silent laugh in his head. _'Huh, yeah right!'_ he thought to himself.

The only response he got was the gentle rustling of leaves in the wind and the chirps and caws of the bird Pokémon.

Latios shook his head. "Alright, if that the way you want to play it, fine! We'll do this the hard way! But you'd better be ready, cause when I find you, you're in for it big time!"

He continued his search around the garden for a while, but couldn't find his sister in any of the spot he searched.

Finally, he decided to rest on the ground for a while and tried to think of good hiding spots that his sister would choose. He tried to imagine himself as Latias, and wondered what sort of hiding spot he would choose if he were in her situation.

He raised a claw to his lips in thought as he looked around the garden, his mind trying to come up with ideas for hiding spots. As his eyes traveled across the garden, he analyzed each potential hiding spot and how likely it was that his sister was hiding in one of them.

The trees? Not likely, seeing as they usually slept in them at night, so Latias probably would've assumed they'd be the first place her brother would look for her.

The bushes? Probably not, since a lot of them had thorns and prickers that was sure to cause any Pokémon considerable discomfort if they chose to hide in them.

The boulders? C'mon, you'd have to be pretty dumb to choose them as a hiding spot.

But what else was there? There were only so many places to hide in the garden, and he had searched most of them to no avail.

But then, all of a sudden, his mind had an amazing brainstorm. His eyes quickly shifted to rest directly on the garden's small pond. _'Of course! The pond!' _he mentally exclaimed.

He quickly flew over to the pond's side and started casting an observing eye across its length. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary amongst it. The water was calm, owing to the fact that there were no apparent factors around to disturb its placidity. The lily pads, some of which had flowers on their tops, were lazily drifting around the pond as the breeze took them. And the water rushes, tall grasses with long spindly stalks with brown knobbly protrusions on their ends, were swaying gently in the breeze. However, on closer inspection, Latios found something that caught his eye, something that seemed out of place amongst the normal pond vegetation.

In the middle of the pond, amongst a cluster of lily pads, in what could easily be missed to all but the careful observer, was what looked like a small yellow protrusion sticking up out of the water. It was barely visible, due to the low height at which it stuck above the water, and the numerous lily pads surrounding it, serving as an effective camouflage. As Latios looked closer at it, he noticed there was a small hole carved into its middle. He slowly extended a claw over the strange object, and was surprised to feel a slight rush of air coming in and out of the object. Pulling his claw back, he marveled for a bit at his sister's ingenuity. Then, with a devilish smile on his lips, he extended his claw again and placed it directly on top of the hole, completely covering it.

Immediately he felt the air flow on his claw begin to get more frantic, as its user's air supply was suddenly cut off. Bubbles started to form on the surface as the creature below struggled to breathe. The reed began visibly trembling as whatever was down there started shaking from the lack of oxygen.

Suddenly, the water around the reed exploded as an air-starved Latias threw herself out of the pond, gasping for air.

However, as soon as she did, she was tackled to the ground by a blue blur called Latios. He held his still dripping sister to the ground with both claws on her back, effectively subduing her while still allowing her to continue to gasp for air.

He looked down at her, a triumphant smile plain on his features. "Now, are we going to apologize, or do I have to tickle it out of you?" he asked her smugly.

Having caught her breath by now, Latias gave a small smile and looked upward towards her brother. "Okay, brother, you win. I'm sorry for pranking you like that." she said in a sincere voice, knowing that she had been beaten.

However, Latios wasn't quite done. "And now that I've caught you, you will acknowledge me as your superior. So repeat after me: I acknowledge Latios to be my overall better in all things. He is smarter than me, faster than me, and much better-looking than me. He is the better Pokémon than me and one whom I'm proud to call my brother." he said.

Latias' eyes widened in shock and her mouth gaped openly. "WHAT! You've gotta be #%$ing kidding me!" she yelled.

Latios' eyes narrowed dangerously as he began sliding his claws closer to his sister's arms. "Do I _look _like I'm kidding, sis? Say it or else you'll be in for a tickling the likes of which you've never seen!"

Latias continued to stare in open shock at Latios, and from the look of dead seriousness on his face, realized that he was far from kidding. She gave a loud and frustrated sigh and looked down towards the ground before replying verbatim: "I acknowledge Latios to be my overall better in all things. He is smarter than me, faster than me, and much better-looking than me. He is the better Pokémon than me and one whom I'm proud to call my brother."

Satisfied, Latios took his claws off his sister, allowing her to rise. "There, was that so hard?" he said in a condescending voice.

However, he had seriously misjudged his sister's reaction. She turned on him and tackled _him_ to the ground, pinning him with her claws. "Not really, seeing as now I'm gonna make you _eat_ those words!" she yelled at him.

Latios gave a playful smile. "Oh, we'll see about that, dear sister." Suddenly, his eyes started glowing a bright shade of white as he unleashed a small Psychic attack that threw his sister off of him and onto the ground with a small "Oof!", although he took care not to hurt her.

He took off laughing across the garden, with his angry sister not far behind him, hurling all kinds of dire threats and some shockingly colorful insults.

Ah, the love shared between siblings. It almost brings a tear to one's eye, doesn't it?

...

After they were done playing, in which Latias finally got her brother to take back his remarks, they both apologized to each, deciding it had all been in good fun.

By now, it was a little after four in the afternoon, and having nothing better to do, Latias suggested that they go to visit Bianca, to which Latios agreed. They both resumed their invisibility and exited the garden the same way they had come in, with Latios following closely behind his sister.

The house in which Bianca and Lorenzo lived in was a small two-story building which was situated alongside one of the many canals that ran across the city. It was located not far from the secret garden, so Bianca and Lorenzo didn't have to walk across the whole city to visit their dragon friends. The same held true for the twins; it gave them a sense of security to know that their friends and caretakers were not far away, ready to help in times of trouble.

Latios and Latias flew into a nearby alley adjacent to the house, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and turned visible in small flashes of light before quickly assuming their human guises, Latias in the form of Bianca, a teenage girl in a green shirt and white mini-skirt, long black socks and pink tennis shoes, with long brown hair that had a style remarkably similar to Latias' wings, while Latios took the form of a boy in his late teens with rather long light blue hair, reddish-colored eyes, wearing an open long-sleeved blue jacket with a white shirt underneath, blue jeans, and black combat boots. Height-wise, Latios' form was slightly taller than Latias'.

Latias looked down at the boots her brother's form had on with disdain. _"Why do you always wear those things?"_ she asked telepathically to him.

Latios put his hands in the pockets of his jacket and shrugged. _"Because I think they look cool. Why do _you _always take the form of Bianca?" _he retorted back with a grin.

Latias was taken aback by this; she adopted a sheepish look and rubbed the back of her head. _"Ah. Touché." _she answered.

Latios smiled and placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. _"Come along, sister." _he said with a chuckle. He just loved to contradict his sister.

They both exited the alley and proceeded across the street to the front door of Bianca and Lorenzo's house. Latios knocked on the door and they both waited for a few seconds before they heard the sound of footsteps coming to the door. The door opened to reveal a girl who was an exact carbon copy of Latias' form, the only difference being the white beret atop her head.

Latias smiled. _"Hi, Bianca!" _she greeted telepathically to her. Latios also smiled and nodded his head in greeting.

Bianca's face lit up as she recognized them. "Oh, hello you two! You have perfect timing; I was just about to come over to the garden to look for you. Come in, quickly! There's something on TV you'll be interested in seeing!" she said excitedly, inviting them in by hurriedly waving her hand.

Curious as to what was so important, the twins entered. Once they were inside and Bianca had closed the door, they immediately resumed their natural forms in a shimmer of light.

Bianca then ran down the main hallway of the house to the entrance of the living room. She turned around and beckoned for them to follow. "Come on! You've got to see this!" she said.

Latios and Latias looked at her with confusion, then they both looked at each other, each wondering what was so important to get Bianca so worked up. Latios then shrugged and followed Bianca, with Latias right behind him.

"_What's this all about, Bianca? What's got you so excited?" _Latios asked her as they followed her into the living room.

Bianca smiled. "Oh, you'll see." she said smugly.

The living room was well furnished, with a wooden floor and a large rug with an intricate design in the middle of the room. On the rug were a large sofa, two comfy chairs, and a glass coffee table in the middle. Facing against the sofa was a medium sized TV set on a table.

Bianca sat down on the couch while Latios and Latias remained floating behind it.

"I was just flipping through the channels when I came across this. It's one of the preliminary matches for the Hoenn League Ever Grande Conference. Check out who's competing." Bianca said.

On the screen it showed what appeared to be a small stadium. Being as it was still the preliminaries, most of the stadium seats were empty. The field was made of dirt with a rectangular pattern encircling the majority of its length that was divided in the middle by a straight line with a circular pattern resembling a Poké Ball in the middle of the line.

The field was currently occupied by two battling Pokémon. One was a small yellow mouse with long ears with black tips, circular red cheeks that were sparking violently, small round black eyes which were currently narrowed in concentration, and a long tail in the shape of a lightning bolt. It had a look of utmost determination on its face.

The other was a rather taller brown colored Pokémon. Its face seemed to lack a mouth or nose; the only visible facial features were its eyes: there was an area of black surrounding their edges, while the eyes themselves were narrow, with a small vertical pupil, like those of a cat. Its arms were wrapped with what looked like bandages, and each of its hands possessed three digits. However, the most striking feature of this Pokémon were its legs, which were longer than the majority of its body and appeared to be very powerful; one kick from them could easily shatter boulders. Its feet were each tipped with three sharp, pointed claws. It had currently adopted a fighting stance, waiting for its opponent to make a move.

The mouse-like Pokémon was a Pikachu, an Electric-type Pokémon capable of producing immensely powerful electric attacks from the energy sacs located in its cheeks.

The other was a Hitmonlee, a Fighting-type Pokémon who specializes in fighting with its feet, able to learn a variety of kicking moves thanks to its incredibly powerful leg muscles.

On either side of the rectangle-shaped arena were two small boxes where each Pokémon's respective Trainer stood.

The Hitmonlee's trainer was a young man who looked like he was in his early twenties, and was wearing a red headband and sporting a flat-top hair style. He was dressed in a karate outfit with a black-colored belt around his waist.

The Pikachu's trainer was a young boy no older than thirteen or fourteen, wearing a red-colored cap that had a streak of black running down its middle, with the top half of a green Poké Ball design in the middle. His hair was jet-black, and was sticking out at the sides of his cap. His brown eyes shone with determination and a love for battling. He was wearing a blue hooded jacket with short black sleeves, gray athletic pants, and blue tennis shoes with black trim. He also had fingerless black training gloves on his hands.

Latias gave a startled gasp as she recognized the Pikachu's trainer. It was a face she often saw in her dreams at night and one that evoked a sense of longing in her heart whenever she thought of him. "Oh my God, Latios, it's Ash!" she exclaimed.

Latios was likewise startled; he and Latias had not seen or heard from Ash ever since the incident a year and four months ago, since they didn't know how to get in contact with him. Seeing him competing in the Ever Grande Conference was quite a shock. "You're right, Latias, it is him! Although he does look different from the last time we saw him." He had remembered Ash wearing a different set of clothes the last time they had met. _'He must've changed outfits when he decided to head to Hoenn.' _he concluded to himself.

Latias nodded. "Yeah, at first I didn't recognize him because of the clothes, but there's no mistaking that face; it's Ash all right!"

Bianca turned around to look at them. "So, I imagine you two are pretty shocked, huh?" she said with a smile.

"_Yeah, we are, seeing as we haven't seen Ash for more than a year. I'm shocked that he was able to get all of the Hoenn League badges and get to the Ever Grande Conference in that amount of time!" _Latios communicated telepathically to Bianca.

"_Although, since he's competing in the Hoenn championships now, I take it he lost in the Johto League competition." _Latios telepathed sadly.

"_How'd you come across this, Bianca?" _Latios queried.

"Well, like I said, I was just surfing the channels when I came across the Hoenn League Championships. The match before this one had just ended and the announcer then said that the next battle was to be between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and some dude from Dewford Town. I didn't catch his name because when I heard Ash was competing, I kinda zoned out. I was just about to come and try to find you guys when you showed up." Bianca explained.

Latios turned his attention to the two Pokémon battling. _"So that must be his Pikachu battling."_ he deduced.

Latios remembered how he had met Ash and his Pikachu when he discovered them both in the secret garden with Latias. He had thought they were there to hurt her and had attacked Pikachu, dealing him a serious blow, and had it not been for the intervention of his sister and Lorenzo, probably would have killed them both. Not what you would call the friendliest of first meetings, but once Latias had informed him that Ash had saved her from a pair of nasty women intent on capturing her (who he later found out was Annie and Oakley), he immediately calmed down and apologized to both Ash and Pikachu for attacking them and also thanked them for saving his sister, and even though Ash couldn't understand him, since Latios did not know telepathy at that time, Ash was able to comprehend his meaning and forgave him for attacking them, and said it was nothing to save his sister, that he would have done it for anyone. Latios started taking an immediate liking to him after that; his kind and helpful spirit and his friendly and caring nature towards Pokémon contributed to this.

The subsequent events with Annie and Oakley proved to Latios just how far Ash was willing to go to help someone in trouble. When Latias arrived with Ash to stop Annie and Oakley in the museum, he had tried everything in his power to free Latios from the life-draining orb he was trapped in. Although it was eventually Latias who freed him using her psychic powers, it was clear that Ash had tried his best to save him, and that he would've done anything to save him.

After Latios had been freed and the DMA deactivated, it was clear that the DMA had taken most of Latios' energy out of him, leaving him close to death. Ash and Latias, along with Bianca and Lorenzo, who had also been in the museum, albeit incapacitated by Oakley's Ariados's spider web until that point, had hurriedly taken him to the local Pokémon Center. As it was still early in the morning, around two a.m., the Pokémon Center had thankfully been vacant of Trainers and their Pokémon. They fetched the Center's Nurse Joy, and after telling her of the situation that had just taken place, Latios was taken in for treatment.

It was agreed upon that the presence of a Legendary Pokémon in the Center could cause quite a commotion if the knowledge became public, so they took every precaution to make sure the presence of Latios in the Center remained a secret. Only those that knew him personally were allowed to see him, those being Latias, Bianca, Lorenzo, and Ash and his friends, Brock and Misty.

During Latios' recovery, all of the aforementioned people made a point to visit him whenever they could. Ash had decided to stay in Alto Mare for a few more days to make sure Latios fully recovered. This gesture proved to Latios just how much he loved and cared for all Pokémon. He had only just met Ash the previous day and thus only barely knew him, but here was Ash, who made it a point to stay in Alto Mare until Latios made a complete recovery. It greatly puzzled him, but at the same time touched his heart that someone he barely knew and had rashly attacked when they first met cared so much for his well-being, a Pokémon Ash had never seen before in his life.

On one of Ash's visits, Latios had asked his Pikachu this very question. "Why does he care so much about me, a Pokémon he only just met?" he had asked.

Instead of answering, Pikachu had told him the story of when he and Ash first met. Ash came from the small town of Pallet, located in the Kanto region. The year he had turned ten, he made it a point to receive his first Pokémon from Professor Oak (whose name sounded familiar to Latios. He thought he had heard it on some TV or radio station before, and from what he remembered, had made him out to be a top Pokémon researcher and quite famous in the scientific community for his discoveries on Pokémon and for the invention of the Pokédex, whatever that was.), and to travel around the region collecting the badges from eight different cities that he'd need to compete in the Kanto League championship. As Pikachu put it, "Ash plans on becoming the world's greatest Pokémon Master. He makes a point of telling that to anyone he meets, so you could say that it's his number one goal in life." he had said with a chuckle.

On the day he began his journey, according to Pikachu, he had overslept, and so by the time he had gotten to Professor Oak's laboratory, all of the starting Pokémon, which consisted of Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, had all been taken by other aspiring Trainers. Ash, who was desperate to have a Pokémon, literally begged Professor Oak for one, and he had reluctantly given him Pikachu.

As Pikachu put it, "I had disliked Ash from the moment I saw him. What would you think, if the person who was to be your Trainer showed up on his first day late and wearing nothing but pajamas?"

Latios chuckled. "I probably wouldn't take him seriously." He answered.

Pikachu smiled. "Which were my thoughts exactly." he said.

Pikachu then explained how Ash had foolishly thrown a rock at a Spearow, hoping to weaken it. But this particular Spearow just happened to be the leader of a large flock of them, and to say it was angry would be a huge understatement.

The Spearow leader ordered his flock to attack Ash, but when he saw that Ash wasn't going down easily, he turned his attention to Pikachu, and although Pikachu put up a brave fight, he was eventually overcome by the many Spearows and brutally beaten.

But Ash had bravely fended off the Spearows attacking Pikachu, and carrying Pikachu in his arms, fled as fast as he could up Route 1.

After being forced to jump off a cliff into a river, they were both fished out of the river by Misty, whom Latios remembered meeting earlier, a red-haired girl with blue eyes, wearing a yellow shirt and blue short shorts, with a red handbag and cradling a small Togepi in her arms.

'Borrowing' Misty's bike, Ash had quickly fled with Pikachu in the bike's basket along the main road leading to Viridian City, as a storm began to brew. However, the flock of Spearow had caught up with them, and caused Ash and Pikachu to fall off the bike into the muddy dirt lining Route 1.

And then, in a moment that Pikachu would remember for the rest of his life, Ash had asked Pikachu to save himself by getting inside a Poké Ball, and in an act of selfless courage, stood defiantly against the Spearow flock, taunting them and saying to come and get him.

In that instance, Pikachu realized that by being willing to sacrifice his life for a Pokémon, Ash was truly a loving and caring Trainer, one that cared for all life in the world, and one who was definitely worthy of his love and respect.

At the same moment the Spearow charged, Pikachu felt a rush of adrenaline surge through him, and eager to protect his Trainer, raced over to him and over his shoulder, and when he was about to meet the Spearows, unleashed a Thunder attack of titanic proportions, amplified by the thunderstorm, completely defeating the Spearows in addition to charring a good portion of the forest around them.

But the attack had completely drained Pikachu's energy, and left him near death's door. So Ash carried Pikachu the rest of the way to Viridian City, where, with some help from the local Officer Jenny, Ash was able to get Pikachu to the Pokémon Center in time for Nurse Joy to save him.

"So to answer your question," Pikachu concluded, "I would say that's it's just in his nature to care about other people and Pokémon. He's shown it so many times since then that I've just come to expect it. It's the same with you and Latias; he wants to make sure you make a full recovery so he can see you up and about again, and so he can see your sister be happy again, knowing you've recovered. Does that make sense?" he asked.

Latios nodded. "Yes. I understand perfectly. You should count yourself lucky to have such a great Trainer." he said.

Pikachu gave a small chuckle. "Oh, believe me, I do. Although I admit he can be a bit of a goofball at times, not to mention being denser than lead, I love Ash and I'd do anything to protect him, just as he'd do anything to protect me or anyone else for that matter. I'm sure it's the same way with you and your sister." he stated.

Latios smiled. "Yep, you're right there. I'd do anything to keep my sister safe, but if you think Ash is a goofball, you should spend some time with my sister."

Pikachu gave a smug smirk. "Oh, you think your sister is bad? Well, let me tell you about the time Ash snuck into the Celadon City Gym…"

After Latios had recovered, he and Latias knew that Ash would leave as soon as possible, as he had mentioned that he was one badge away from having all the badges he'd need to compete in the Johto League championships, and he did not want to miss the deadline for Trainer registration.

On the day that Ash was to catch a boat back to the Johto mainland, he and Latias had caught up to him as he and his were about to embark. They were both in their human forms, Latios in his custom form, and Latias in the form of Bianca. They knew that Ash had already said his goodbyes to Bianca and Lorenzo earlier in the morning, but he and Latias had both wanted to see Ash off personally.

Ash had been surprised at first to see them, but this was immediately replaced by relief and gladness. "Hey, you guys! I didn't think I'd get a chance to say goodbye to you two. Thanks for coming!" he had said.

Latios came up to Ash and embraced him in a tight, crushing hug.

Ash laughed and patted Latios on the back in return. "Yeah, I'm gonna miss you too, Latios. You and your sister." he said amusedly.

After breaking off the hug, Latios handed Ash a piece of paper. Ash looked at it quizzically for a moment before opening it. It read:

_Ash, good luck with getting your last badge and competing in the Johto League championship! My sister and I'll be rooting for you!_

_Thank you so much for your help in dealing with Annie and Oakley. If it hadn't been for you, my sister and I would not be alive right now. From the bottom of our hearts, my sister and I thank you. _

_And make sure to come and visit us again sometime. You'll always be welcome here as a friend of the family._

_Latios_

Ash looked up from reading it and smiled. "Thanks, Latios. I'll make sure to do my best in the Johto League! And I promise to never forget you guys or this city, I had a great time here. I'll try to come back someday." he said.

Then Latias came forward, and in a move that shocked Latios and Ash, as well as his friends, gave Ash a kiss on the cheek.

Latios stared aghast at his sister, while Ash just stood rooted to the spot, completely dumbfounded. Pikachu fell off of Ash's shoulder and started rolling around on the ground in laughter at seeing Ash's expression. Brock stared at the scene with a sort of pained longing, while with Misty Latios could've sworn he had seen, in addition to her shock, a trace of what looked like jealousy on her features.

After breaking off the kiss, Latias gave Ash one last tender look before suddenly turning and running away into the city. Latios looked after her, then at Ash, who was still just standing there with a blank look on his face. Latios waved a hand in front of Ash's face; no response. The poor boy's mind seemed to have gone completely into grid-lock. Meanwhile, Pikachu was still laughing his head off at Ash's condition down on the ground, while Ash's friends were trying to recover from the scene they had just witnessed. Shaking his head in embarrassment, Latios gave Ash and his friends one final wave goodbye before turning to go after his sister.

Although she wasn't willing to discuss it with him, as evidenced by any attempt by him to speak to her about it usually involved Latias blushing and quickly changing the subject, it was now clear to Latios that over the events that had taken place while Ash was in Alto Mare, from the time Latios had caught her trying to help Ash out during the Tour de Alto Mare, to their first meeting in the secret garden, to the events involving Annie and Oakley, and now this goodbye kiss, that Latias had apparently developed more than just feelings for Ash. It was love, pure and simple.

Ever since then, Latios had frequently caught his sister off alone somewhere, staring off into space with a dreamy look in her eye, a smile on her lips. When Latios approached or called out her name, however, she would quickly snap out of her daydream and look away, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red, and would fly away in a huff, muttering things like "stupid nosy brother" and "can't a girl have some privacy?"

He would sometimes catch her muttering things in her sleep, all revolving around a certain black-haired, cap wearing Trainer. Some of the things she said were so ridiculously dirty, that Latios had to strain from bursting out into laughter, lest he wake her, and proceeded to find another place to sleep for the night.

And lastly, he would sometimes find her, in human guise, out at the docks, staring longingly out across the water. He knew better than to disturb her, and had quickly flown on, shaking his head in amusement.

Even now, as they both watched the battle unfold onscreen, Latios could sense his sister watching with a trace of dreamy admiration as Ash ordered Pikachu to dodge a series of kicks from the opponent's Hitmonlee.

It was clear to Latios that any attempt at trying to talk Latias out of her love for Ash would be a useless gesture; her feelings towards him were just too strong to be talked out of. Latios just feared that his sister was just setting herself up for heartbreak, however. He understood his sister's feelings, of course, and respected her for them, but there remained the fact that Ash was a human and Latias a Pokémon, albeit a Legendary one, and that such a relationship would be frowned upon in many circles. And it remained to be seen if Ash possessed the same feelings towards Latias as she did for him. Judging from his reaction when she had kissed him, he probably didn't know what the hell had just happened and was struggling to comprehend its meaning. _'But then again, Pikachu did say he was denser than lead'_ Latios thought. _'Maybe as he gets older, he'll realize my sister's feelings for him.'_

Onscreen, the Hitmonlee continued to thrust kicks towards Pikachu, who continued to dodge every one of them with lightning speed.

But now Pikachu was being backed into a corner against the stadium, driven by the relentless kicks.

But just when it seemed that Pikachu had nowhere to go, he quickly dodged by jumping sideways as Hitmonlee aimed a ferocious kick at the point that Pikachu had been in just a second ago.

The power behind the attack caused Hitmonlee's leg to drive into the stadium wall with considerable force, leaving an indentation of Hitmonlee's footprint with cracks lining the edges embedded in the wall.

However, striking such a hard object with such force seemed to have damaged Hitmonlee's leg, as evidenced by its slight limp and pained expression as it turned to face Pikachu.

"An amazing display of dodging from Ash's Pikachu! That impact with the wall seems to have put quite a strain on Gilbert's Hitmonlee's legs. Will it be able to recover?" the announcer for the battle commented.

"Come on, Pikachu! Beat that Hitmonlee!" Latias cheered.

Latios sweatdropped at his sister's antics. "Uh, you do know he can't hear you, right?"

Latias rolled her eyes. "So what? In the end, it's the thought that counts."

"Nice dodging, Pikachu! Now, let's finish this!" Ash shouted.

"We're not going down without a fight! Hitmonlee, use Mega Kick!" the Hitmonlee's Trainer, whom the announcer had identified as Gilbert, ordered.

Before Pikachu could make a move, Hitmonlee smashed into him with a powerful kick, sending them both charging through the air.

However, Ash quickly acted, seemingly sensing something. "Pikachu, quick! Use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu, hearing this, began hardening his tail until it gave off a metallic sheen before the two combatants struck the ground, sending up a huge dust cloud.

"The two Pokémon's impact with the ground has created a large dust cloud! Which combatant will come out on top?" the announcer narrated in an overly dramatic voice.

Both of the Trainers, as well as the two dragons and Bianca, waited with bated breath to see which Pokémon won the exchange.

Finally, the dust cleared, revealing Pikachu having smashed Hitmonlee over the head with his Iron Tail. It seemed that using Iron Tail helped cushion the impact against the ground, and while Hitmonlee had been blinded by the dust, Pikachu had jumped up and dealt Hitmonlee a knockout blow. The Hitmonlee gave one last pained grunt before collapsing to the ground, his eyes turned to swirls, indicating he had fainted.

The referee raised a flag towards Ash's side of the field. "Hitmonlee is unable to battle! The victory of this preliminary match goes to Ash Ketchum and Pikachu!" he called out.

Latios gave a dramatic claw-pump. "Yeah! Great job Ash!" he shouted in excitement, as onscreen Ash and Pikachu shared a celebratory hug.

"Yay! He won! He won!" Latias exclaimed while doing a very happy aerial dance around the room, although she took care not to knock anything over in her excitement.

"I've gotta admit, that was really impressive." said Bianca as onscreen the scene changed to the event announcers discussing the outcomes of the day's many preliminary battles.

Latios nodded his head in agreement. _"Yeah, I never fully realized how good of a Trainer he was until now." _he said telepathically.

Latias had calmed down by now and decided to join in the conversation. _"Yeah, did you notice that he had taught Pikachu Iron Tail? It must've taken him quite a while to master that move." _she telepathed.

Latios gave a small chuckle. _"If us learning Steel Wing were anything to go by, I'd say it would've taken him _more _than quite a while, sis." _he communicated telepathically to his sister.

Latias grimaced as she recalled learning how to use Steel Wing. _"Yeah, you're definitely right there, bro." _she answered back.

She turned back to look at the screen, where the announcers were still commenting on the day's events. _"So, what happens now?" _she asked.

Bianca decided to answer, since Latios really didn't have a clue. "Well, if I remember correctly, the Hoenn League championships are divided into three rounds: the preliminary rounds, the qualifying rounds, and the final rounds. During the preliminaries, each Trainer is allowed one Pokémon to do battle with. The Trainer that wins moves on while the one that is defeated is eliminated. A Trainer must win three of these battles in a row in order to continue. In the qualifying rounds, Trainers take part in three two-on-two battles, in which two Pokémon participate fight together as a team to defeat the other one. A Trainer must be able to win at least two of the three battles in order to move on to the final rounds. In the final rounds, the final thirty-two Trainers take part in full six-on-six single battles, with the Trainer who knocks out each of their opponent's six Pokémon advancing while the loser is eliminated. During these battles, there is an added stipulation: the field on which the Pokémon battle is changed whenever three of one of the Trainers Pokémon is knocked out. The field can take the form of many different types of elements, such as Rock, Grass, Water, and Ice, and can really turn the tide of a battle if the field plays to your strong points, but it can also pose a major problem if the field holds your Pokémon at a disadvantage. The final rounds are divided up into the opening rounds, the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and finally, the championship match where the winner is crowned Hoenn League Champion." she explained.

Latias looked at her in amazement. _"Wow, how do you know so much about the tournament, Bianca?" _she asked her.

Bianca scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, you may not have guessed this, but when I was younger, I originally dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Trainer myself." she said.

Latias looked taken aback by this. _"You! A Pokémon Trainer? What made you want to become one?" _she asked Bianca.

Bianca hummed in thought for a while before answering. "I guess it was mainly because I wanted to see what the world was like outside of Alto Mare. I wanted to see and draw the many sights around the world and also to meet new and interesting Pokémon that you don't normally see around Alto Mare."

"_What made you change your mind, then?" _Latios asked.

"I guess it was mainly Lorenzo's doing. He helped me to realize that I enjoyed drawing and painting much more than I enjoyed battling. Plus, I never really saw myself as much of a battler in the first place. I just didn't have that fire and determination needed to succeed in battles, like Ash has. And knowing I was going to be so far away from Alto Mare and you two was not something I could stand. I loved my home far too much to be away from it for too long, so going on a long Pokémon journey did not seem like something I would enjoy. So I decided to stay here and take up being an artist, and it is a decision I do not regret making." Bianca explained.

Latias came over and gave Bianca an affectionate nuzzle. _"And I'm glad you decided to do that, Bianca. Latios and I care deeply for you. We would hate to see you be away for so long." _

"_But won't you eventually get bored with drawing the sights around Alto Mare? I mean, there are only so many times you can draw the same thing without it seeming repetitive. Don't you want to see what the world is like outside of Alto Mare?" _Latios asked.

Bianca sighed. "I do admit the thought has crossed my mind. I still wish to see what the world is like outside this island. Maybe someday I'll take a short trip over to the Johto or Hoenn mainland, just to see what it's like over there. I heard that there are some spots over in Hoenn and Johto that are great for aspiring painters like myself to capture. But I don't know if Lorenzo would allow it, and plus, I'd hate to leave you guys behind." she said.

Latias felt bad for the predicament her best friend was in. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as an amazing idea came to her mind.

"_Hey, Bianca, how about we all go to watch the Ever Grande Conference? It's a perfect way for you to find new things to paint, and plus, we'll be able to see Ash again. I'm sure he's had many adventures since he left here. It'd be great to catch up with him and also to watch him compete in the tournament, and Latios and I might be able to learn a thing or two from watching him." _she telepathed eagerly.

Bianca looked interested at the prospect, but she still seemed worried. "I don't know, Latias. While I admit your idea does seem great, I'm not sure if Lorenzo'd allow it. And you didn't even ask you brother what he thinks." she said reproachfully.

Latios turned to her brother, a pleading look in her eye. "Come on, bro, can we go? It'll be fun, and we'll be able to see Ash again!"she asked him.

Although Latios was also interested in the prospect of going to see the Ever Grande Conference, he tried not to show it. He looked sternly at his sister. "You're forgetting one important thing, Latias, and that's who'll guard Alto Mare while we're away? Isn't it our duty to guard Alto Mare and the Soul Dew?"he asked her.

Latias scoffed at her brother. "Oh, come on Latios, where's your sense of adventure? The only major crisis we've ever had to deal with was when Annie and Oakley were in town, and anything before that was minor at best. I'm sure the Soul Dew and Alto Mare will be safe if we just leave for a week."

Latios, nonplussed, continued to stare seriously at her. Latias decided to pull her ultimate trump card that she knew her brother couldn't resist. She came closer and stared at Latios, her eyes round and teary, looking adorably innocent, and placing her claws together in a pleading manner: the 'sad-puppy-growlithe' face. "Pleeeeeaaaseee, Brother? Pleeeeaaaseee?" she asked in an adorably cute voice.

Latios gave a weary sigh. "Oh, all right, but ju-" he begun, but he never got a chance to finish since he was immediately tackled by an extremely happy Latias.

"Oh, thank you, brother, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she said giddily while happily hugging her brother around the neck in a tight embrace.

Latios tried to struggle out of his sister's tight grip on his neck, but it was all in vain. "Gurgh…sister…get…off…can't…breathe…" he managed to gasp out between struggled breaths.

Hearing this, Latias quickly released Latios from her crushing hug, allowing him to suck in some much needed air, taking it in deep breaths.

Latios rubbed his neck where his sister had been squeezing it and glared at her. "Jeez, sister!" he said simply.

Latias didn't meet his eyes; she was keeping her eyes trained on a crack in the floorboards and shuffling her claws ashamedly. "Sorry, brother, I got carried away." she apologized in a small voice.

Latios rolled his eyes. "You think?" he said sarcastically. But as he continued to look at his sister, who was looking the picture of dejection, his anger at her quickly faded. He sighed and flew over to his sister, embracing her in a light, caring hug. "Apology accepted sis." he said soothingly.

Latias, in turn, hugged him back. "Thank you, brother." she said gratefully.

Over on the couch, Bianca 'awwwed' at the cute family scene. Even though she couldn't understand what they had said, she had gotten the gist of it all from their tone and body language. She also knew that no matter how many times Latias' behavior annoyed them or got them mad (and that counted especially true for Latios, since he had to deal with her behavior on a daily basis), they would always end up forgiving her. She was just one of those people (or Pokémon in her case) that you just couldn't stay mad at for long (another point that counted especially true in Latios' case, seeing as they _were_ brother and sister, of course).

Looking over towards Bianca, Latios gave a small laugh at her reaction. Breaking off the embrace, Latios began to explain to her, _"As I'm sure you've guessed, I've decided to go with you on this little trip, but as I was about to explain, bear in mind that I'm only doing this because it's what my sister wants, and so we can see Ash again and watch him compete in the tournament. And after the tournament is done, we will come straight back here. We will not be making detours to go traipsing across the whole of Hoenn, that can be done some other time. We are only going to watch the tournament and to see Ash compete, nothing more. And Latias and I must take care to never reveal our true forms in public. There's bound to be some enterprising Trainers out there who would just _love_ the opportunity to battle and capture a Legendary Pokémon, like us. So we must be sure to remain invisible at all times or to use our alternate forms when we don't wish to be invisible. The only times in which we can show our natural forms visibly is when we're in a place that I deem to be safe, one that promises that we won't be bothered by stupid Trainers."_

"_Ash is a Trainer." _said Latias, sounding slightly offended.

Latios sweatdropped. _"Err, yes, but we all know that Ash is a Trainer that we can trust, and one that we can show our natural forms to and not worry about being captured by him." _he amended.

"What about Lorenzo? What do you think he'll say? Plus, given his age, I don't think he'd be willing to make the trip." said Bianca.

"_I'm sure that if we promise to look after each other and to be extremely careful not to reveal ourselves, he'll be willing to let us go this one time." _said Latios.

"_So once we get Lorenzo's permission, when will we be able to go?" _Latias asked excitedly.

"_Well, Bianca said that the preliminaries last for a few more days, and most of those matches turn out to be nothing special, so I was thinking that we wait for a while before leaving, that way we'll be able to get there when the qualifying rounds begin. _That's _when things'll start to get interesting." _Latios explained.

"_Are you really that confident that Ash'll make it to the qualifying rounds?" _Latias asked skeptically.

Latios nodded. _"I am. I don't what it is, but something tells me that the preliminaries, for Ash, will not be a problem in the slightest. Bear in mind that he's done this before, in both Kanto and Johto and now Hoenn, so yeah, I have the utmost confidence that Ash'll make it to the next round." _

"_Okay, brother, I'll take your word for it. You are the big expert on battling, after all. I just hope your intuition proves you right." _said Latias.

"_Don't worry, sis. I'm certain about this, Ash will move on to the next rounds." _Latios said with a confident smile.

Suddenly, the screen on which the commentators were talking changed to a different screen. News music played and on the screen was a colorful backdrop with the logo of the region's media, Goldenrod Channel 4 News, displayed prominently in the middle.

"We interrupt this program to bring you a breaking Channel 4 news bulletin. Please stay tuned for further announcements." a male voice announced over the music.

All of the room's inhabitants turned to stare curiously at the screen, each of them wondering what could be so important.

The screen changed to that of a male reporter sitting at a news desk. Behind him was a traditional news backdrop.

"We apologize for the sudden change in programming to all of you who are watching, but we have just received a breaking news development from the Kanto region that must be addressed as soon as possible." the reporter began.

"We have received word from the Kanto region police that there has been a breakout from the region's female maximum security prison and that two prisoners have successfully escaped. No details have yet been released on the two fugitives, but we are told to expect these details shortly. We take you now live to the prison's press room where the warden is about to release a statement."

The scene changed to a view of a room with an empty podium set in the middle. There were seats with numerous reporters and photographers set in front of the podium, all awaiting the arrival of the warden. Presently the warden, who was a well-built man, dressed in a dark blue suit and tie combination and matching color pants, with dark-brown hair and a bushy moustache, entered the room from a door set behind and to the left of the podium and made his way over to it, with what appeared to be two manila folders in one of his hands. As soon as he entered, the room burst into a sea of noise and bright flashes as the reporters clamored to get their questions answered and the photographers tried to get the best shot possible. The warden reached the podium and stood behind it, placing the two folders on the podium's surface before raising his hands to ask for quiet. The reporters gradually settled down while the photographers continued to take shots, albeit with less frequency.

The warden took a few to collect his thoughts before he cleared his throat and began. "I have called this press conference here this evening because I have some information regarding the two fugitives that I wish to share with you and the families watching at home. Around five-thirty pm this evening, two of our inmates managed to subdue four of our prison guards and obtain their keys. They then proceeded to the roof, where they managed to escape via an overhanging telephone wire. It is my deepest regret to say that two of the officers were killed in the struggle. The other two have been diagnosed as being in critical condition over at the local hospital. I'd like to offer my sympathies the deceased officers' families. They bravely gave their lives in the line of duty in trying to apprehend these two dangerous individuals. They were both outstanding officers of the law that will sorely be missed by everyone who knew them. I also offer my prayers to the two officers in the hospital in hoping they'll be able to make a full recovery. But know that your actions will not be in vain; we will see to it that these two monsters that clearly have little to no regard for human life are brought to a swift and merciless justice."

Latias shook her head sadly. "Oh my, those poor officers…I can't imagine what their families are going through." she said sadly.

"Killing an officer of the law…anyone who does that deserves to be dealt with in the harshest manner possible." Latios muttered darkly.

Back onscreen, the warden opened the two folders that sat on the podium. "I will now display to the public photographs of the two escapees. If you should ever see these individual, I ask that you contact your local authorities immediately."

The warden then held up the two photographs for the cameras to see. They were typical booking photographs with each photo subject standing against a white backdrop, one shot with them facing the side, the other shot with them facing towards the camera. The one on the left depicted a woman in her early twenties with long blonde hair done into two large buns that stuck to her sides that vaguely resembled beehives. Almost half of the left side her face was hidden beneath a large bang that came down to about her mouth. She had narrow, piercing blue eyes and one side of her mouth was curved upward in a smug grin, as if she actually _enjoyed_ being photographed like this. From what could be seen of her clothing, she was wearing what looked like a black leather tank top and some kind of silver ornament around her neck. She was also wearing some rather large blue-colored earrings. The booking placard on the side photo read:

_Kanto County Woman's Correctional Facility_

_Team Rocket agent cdnm "Annie"_

_Hgt. 5'6"_

_Wgt. 136 lbs._

_Pris. Num. 1268479_

The other photo depicted a woman who looked slightly younger than her counterpart, with light blue, almost silver-colored hair that was styled in the back so that it appeared to curve upward, almost resembling wings. Her eyes were a dark brown in color, almost black, and seemed to radiate malice. Her mouth was set in a tight frown. She seemed to stare at the camera with a dark intensity; she was clearly the more dangerous of the two. She was also wearing a black leather tank top, and just visible near the top of her arms were two golden armbands. Her side photo placard read:

_Kanto County Woman's Correctional Facility_

_Team Rocket agent cdnm "Oakley"_

_Hgt. 5'4"_

_Wgt. 124 lbs._

_Pris. Num. 1853690_

The sight of these photos generated immediate reactions among Bianca and the two draconic Legendaries.

Bianca jumped up out of her seat and held both hands to her mouth, a muffled sound that sounded like "Oh dear Arceus in heaven!" She then ran into the kitchen, probably to use the telephone to call Lorenzo and inform him.

Latias gave a small shriek and immediately began hugging her brother, her eyes wide and unbelieving. "Oh no, Latios, _it's them!_" she cried.

Latios was silent, he just stared open-mouthed at the screen, his eyes having a glazed look. _'No, it can't be! They can't be out! For the love of Arceus, anyone but them!'_

The warden, obviously not hearing their cries, continued. "The fugitives go by the name Annie and Oakley. It is assumed that these names are only codenames, since they don't have any last names to speak of, and since we were unable to find any records matching their description with the names "Annie" and "Oakley" attached to them. What is known about them is that they are confirmed members of the global criminal organization known as Team Rocket. They operate mostly as spies, gathering information for the organization in general, as well as performing operations that required more discretion than others. They were captured a little more than a year ago in the island city of Alto Mare that rests between the Johto region to its west, and the Hoenn region to its east. The events leading to their capture are too many for me to go into detail here, but to get to the point, they managed to get themselves stuck inside some ancient machine which trapped them there until we were able to retrieve them. They were each sentenced to fifty years in prison with no possibility of parole and were expedited to the Kanto region, where they were planned to serve their sentence until their recent escape. I would like everyone watching this at home to ingrain these faces in their memory. Any sighting of these women should be reported directly to police, but do not, I repeat, _do not_ make any attempt to subdue them yourself. These women, as shown in their senseless slaying of two innocent prison guards and in the critical wounding of two others, have shown themselves to be deadly proficient in unarmed combat, and by now have probably had enough time to obtain firearms, so once again, under no circumstances are you to approach these women, as they are likely to be armed and extremely dangerous."

...

Back in the garden, Latios' mind was still racing with the fact that the two humans that meant them the most harm, Annie and Oakley, had escaped from prison.

They had been sent home by Bianca after she had relayed the news to Lorenzo at his workshop, who in turn told her to send them both dragons home to the garden and to lock the doors to the house while he went and notified the Alto Mare police of the situation.

He was currently just flying aimlessly around the garden, while his sister played games with some of the other Pokémon in the garden.

His thoughts were filled with many different emotions: hatred towards the two for obvious reasons, shock that they had managed to pull off such a daring break-out, and most of all, fear that they might come back to finish the job they had started.

Latias, who noticed her brother's discomfort, had broken off from playing and now flew over to him.

"Hey, brother, what's wrong? Are you still thinking about Annie and Oakley?" she asked with worry on her face.

Latios nodded his head solemnly. "I just can't believe that they're out again, Latias." he said worriedly.

Latias nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me neither."

Latios looked up at the sky, which was currently a beautiful golden color thanks to the setting sun. "But I can't help but feel that we should've expected this. Given their reputation, it should've been obvious that they'd attempt to break out at some point or other." he said matter-of-factly.

Latias then asked the question that was at the forefront of both of their minds. "Do you think they'll come back?"

Latios' face grew deadly serious. "I don't know, sis. It's probably more likely that they'll probably go into hiding or something. But if they do come back, at least this time we'll be ready for them." he said.

"Do you think we'll be able to beat them by ourselves this time?" Latias asked.

Latios smiled at his sister. "What did you think all that training we did was for? Fun?" he asked amusedly.

Ever since the incident, he, and surprisingly, Latias, had taken it upon themselves to better train themselves in combat should they ever face another situation like the one with Annie and Oakley. Before the incident, they were largely inexperienced in battle; the most they could do was to turn invisible and tackle opponents at high speeds. Their relative inexperience was attributed to the fact that Alto Mare was a quiet and peaceful city, hardly the place one would expect to be dangerous, and so they didn't see the need to train themselves. The incident with Annie and Oakley caused them to change their perspective, however. They had allowed Annie and Oakley to steal the precious Soul Dew, which contained the soul of their father, without putting up much of a fight, and Latios was also captured in the process. They had both nearly lost their lives, Latios at the hands of Annie and Oakley, and Latias when she and Ash had nearly been drowned in a column of water summoned by the power-mad Oakley, who was in control of the DMA. Worst of all, they had failed in their roles as Guardians. They had proven themselves incapable of defending the city they loved; the city they had sworn to protect. If only they had been better trained, they could've stopped Annie and Oakley themselves before the incident got out of hand like it did. They had no intention of ever letting it happen again, and so, along with some help from Bianca and Lorenzo, the two dragons began their training.

They started by learning the skill of telepathy, a skill that would allow them to communicate freely between themselves or with Bianca or Lorenzo or any other human for that matter. Apart from the obvious benefit of being able to converse with their human friends without the need for a pen and paper, since telepathy was silent and could be transmitted selectively, be it to a single mind, a select group, or to everyone in the vicinity, it would allow them to transmit silent messages to each other or their friends without their opponent knowing it, allowing them to potentially get the drop on them.

They accomplished learning this skill by trying to force their thoughts into each other's minds by concentrating and willing their thoughts to be heard by each other. It took some time and effort, but eventually they were able to telepath to each other fully and without much effort. They then started to practice with Bianca and Lorenzo, trying to will their thoughts to be heard by them just like they had with each other, although trying to telepath to humans proved to be much more difficult than they had thought. Since Pokémon minds differed greatly from human minds, trying to bridge the gap between the two proved to be _very_ difficult. Still, the two dragons kept at it, not wanting to fail, and finally, after a little more than three weeks of effort, they were able to competently transmit their thoughts to Bianca and Lorenzo; although it still took them a little effort to be heard, they were confident that their skill in telepathing to humans would continue to improve over time.

Next, they set to work on learning how to control their innate Psychic abilities. As Latios explained to his sister on the day after they had finished mastering telepathy, "The only situations in which we've been able to use our psychic powers is when we were in times of great stress and danger, such as when you and Ash were almost drowned in that living column of water and when you were trying to free me from the DMA. If we ever want to be able to use our psychic powers in a battle, we must first learn how to control and to focus our minds so that our psychic powers will start to visibly manifest themselves. And that is only the first step; once we are able to control our psychic abilities, we must be able to use them in such a way that they will be of use to us in a battle, in the form of the move known to humans as Psychic, which is the most basic form of attack that Pokémon of the Psychic type can learn."

"If it's so common, then how come _we've_ never been able to learn it until now?" his sister had asked him with a confused look.

At this, Latios sweatdropped and rubbed the back of his head with a claw. "Uhh, well I guess it's because we never fully took the time to learn it, seeing as Alto Mare was usually a peaceful town, we probably didn't feel the need to use our psychic powers." he said with a small chuckle.

Latias smiled at her brother's embarrassment. "It's amazing how a near-death experience can change one's outlook on things, isn't it, bro?" she asked.

Latios chuckled at his sister's shrewd observation. "Indeed it is, sis. Indeed it is. Ok, to start, I've heard that the easiest way to focus one's mind is through the process of meditation, so each day we will meditate for one hour in the daytime and also for one hour at nighttime, until such time as we are able to make our psychic powers manifest outwardly. When that is accomplished, we must come up with some exercises that will allow us to strengthen our minds and in turn increase our Psychic attack's power." he explained.

When he was finished, Latias let out a loud groan. "So you're telling me that for two hours each day we're each going to be sitting around doing _nothing_? That sounds so boring!" she complained in annoyance.

Latios laughed at his sister's attitude. If there was one thing Latias was not good at, it was standing still. "I know it does, sis, but if we want to be able to use our psychic powers, it's our only option. Don't you want to become a stronger battler?" he asked.

Latias sighed. "Of course I do, bro, you know that." she answered. "I just wish it didn't have to sound so boring, that's all." she muttered quietly to herself, although Latios was clearly able to hear her.

Latios smiled and decided to pretend he hadn't heard her. "All right then, let's get started."

And so each day in the garden they meditated, an hour in the daytime and an hour at night. Latios, unlike his sister, enjoyed the time he spent meditating; he felt more in tune with himself and his surroundings when he was. Then, after a little more than a week, while he was in one of his meditative trace, he started to feel a strange sensation awaken within him that he had never felt before. To him it felt like he had opened a door in his mind that up until now had remained shut, and behind that door lay the secret to unlocking his true power, a secret he had inherited from his father and also from his father's ancestors. He was shocked to find that the key to his powers had been buried within his mind this whole time since the day he had hatched, and that all he had needed to do was to look within his mind for the answers. It was truly a life changing moment for him.

Immediately he broke out of his trance and rushed over to the spot where his sister was meditating in the garden and started shaking her. "Hey sis, come on, wake up!" he shouted in an excited tone.

Latias' eyes snapped open and she gave a small gasp of surprise; being startled from a meditative state is akin to being woken up from a deep sleep, and as such, it was safe to say that Latias was more than a little peeved. She glared at him, "What? What is it?" she said in a slightly angry tone.

Her anger at being woken did nothing to dampen Latios' excitement. "Sorry, sis, but I just had to come over to tell you this. You'll never believe it, sis, this is so awesome!" he said in a rush, barely able to contain his excitement.

Latias' anger quickly faded to be replaced by clear confusion and surprise at her brother's excited demeanor; usually it was her that got this excited. "Whoa, Latios, slow down. What are you trying to say?" she asked him.

Latios took a few deep breaths to calm himself a little before explaining. "Our power, sis! It's been with us the whole time, ever since we were born! Our parents must've passed on that knowledge to us while we were still in the egg; we just needed to know how to unlock it!"

"So you're saying that you're able to use your psychic abilities now?" Latias asked, herself getting excited now.

"I don't know. Let's find out!" Latios then started to look around for something to practice on. He eventually settled for a small boulder, about the size of a football. He then started to concentrate while staring intensely at the boulder, trying to call upon the power within him, which he knew was just begging to be let out.

All of a sudden his eyes started to glow a bright shade of white and the boulder he was focusing on started to lift a few feet off the ground, suspended in the air by a seemingly invisible force. Latias gasped in amazement at the sight. "Awesome, bro! You're doing it! You're really doing it!" she shouted excitedly at her brother.

However, it wasn't long before Latios started showing signs of weariness; he was gritting his teeth as he struggled to maintain his psychic grip on the boulder. Finally, it was too much, and Latios released his grip on the boulder with an audible gasp, his eyes returning to their normal shade of red as the boulder returned to the grass where it had been resting with a small thump.

Latios panted tiredly, the effort of suspending that boulder had been exhausting, but at the same time he felt exhilarated that he had been able to lift it for so long using just his mind! He was confident that as he continued to train his mind, he would be able to lift much larger and heavier things; this small boulder was only the beginning!

Latias flew over to him and gave him a hug. "That was awesome, bro! Not bad for your first try!" she said, her eyes shining with admiration for her brother's accomplishment.

Latios smiled at his sister. "Thanks, sis, but remember this is only the beginning. We've still got a lot of training to accomplish to get to the level we want to be at. Now the real training begins." he explained.

Latias nodded and adopted a determined look. "I know that, bro. Don't worry, I'm with you all the way! We made a promise to do this together, no matter how hard it gets, right?"

Latios nodded back. "Right." he said in affirmation.

Latias then adopted a sheepish look and rubbed the back of her neck with a claw. "Uh, just one thing, brother. Do you think you could teach me how to find this power you were talking about yourself? I don't think this meditation thingy is ever gonna work out for me."

The sound of Latios' laughter could be heard across the entire length of the secret garden.

...

Over the next year, the two dragons continued to improve their skills. In addition to basic exercises designed to increase their stamina and endurance, as well as continuing to strengthen their mental powers by lifting heavy objects using Psychic, they worked on learning some other offensive and defensive moves to help them in battle.

The first of these was the move known as Dragonbreath, which took the form of a stream of flames bristling with draconic energy.

To learn this move, they focused on taking deep breaths, and as they were exhaling, trying to call upon their innate draconic power. In a way, they went about learning it the same way they had learned Psychic.

The next move they focused on learning was Steel Wing, a move that struck opponents with wings hardened to steel-like properties.

It was Lorenzo who suggested that to learn this move, they must focus on strengthening their wing muscles, which they did by tying ropes fitted with medium-sized boulders on each of their wings and moving them up and down.

It was hard work, and none too enjoyable, but the twins beared it, since they figured knowing a variety of different type moves would help them in the long run. They each took turns doing this; one of them would be exercising, while the other acted as a spotter, offering encouragement when it was needed.

Next they worked on learning Protect, a useful defensive move that allowed the user to summon a barrier that was able to deflect any attack.

They learned this by attempting to use their psychic powers to create a barrier in front of them. To test the strength of their Protects to make sure they would hold up in a battle, one of them concentrated on maintaining their own barrier while the other attacked with a move of their choosing. The attacks were slightly toned down at first, of course. It was hardly fair to attack a weak barrier with a full powered Steel Wing. As their skill with the barriers improved, they likewise increased the power behind their attacks. Any damage taken from moves that broke through the Protect was forgiven; they each saw it as a sort of friendly sparring session between siblings, and it gave them a chance to practice the moves they had learned on a live target for once, in addition to learning a useful defensive move.

Finally, they worked on mastering their own specific special attacks, Luster Purge in Latios' case and Mist Ball in Latias'. This basically worked in the same way they had mastered Psychic, since Luster Purge and Mist Ball were essentially just super-charged Psychic attacks, manifested in different ways of course. Luster Purge manifested in the shape of a bright beam of light fired from Latios' mouth that, when making contact with an opponent, exploded in a violent burst of damaging bright light which also severely weakened the target's defense. Mist Ball, on the other hand, took the form of a large, red, swirling ball of mists that were super-charged with Latias' psychic energies that she formed between her claws and that, when thrown, could explode on contact with an opponent or at Latias' own discretion, the mists also serving to weaken an opponent's attack power. They had always instinctively known how to use these attacks; they just had to learn how to control them so they would be of use in battling.

In just over a year, they had brought their battle skills up to a considerable level better than they were before, at a rate that would impress even the most diligent Trainer and would put most trained Pokémon to shame. Although Latios was still by far the much more combat-ready one, he was certain that his sister would be able to pull her weight in a battle if need be. He just hoped it would be enough.

...

Later that night, almost at midnight, Latios was wakened when a chilly breeze blew across him, causing him to shiver. He was about to shrug it off and go back to sleep when he realized a startling fact: Latias wasn't sleeping anywhere near him!

Instantly awake, he immediately started using his Psychic senses to search in a wide area around the garden in search for his sister. He hoped nothing bad had happened to her! _'Get a hold of yourself, Latios.' _he mentally told himself, _'she's probably fine; you're just overreacting.'_

Finally, his senses picked her up not too far from where he was, so he immediately started to calm down. However, his fear was immediately replaced by worry and curiosity. What would Latias be doing up so late?

'_Well, there's only one way to find out.'_ he told himself before flying off in the direction that he had sensed his sister at.

The night air was rather cool, and the moonlight shining down through the canopy of trees cast a soft glow around the garden. The garden was mostly silent, the only audible sounds being the occasional chilly breeze rustling through the trees or the chirping melodies of nocturnal crickets. Fireflies flitted around, occasionally emitting the bright flash of light that was characteristic of their species. Most, if not all of the Pokémon that usually occupied the garden had gone to sleep long ago, so as Latios continued to make his way across the garden, he couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved at the uncharacteristic silence, he was used to it being much more active than this, but at the same time, felt a sense of peace and tranquility wash over him at the sense of having no noisy distractions around; it made him feel much more at ease in his thoughts. At night, the garden was truly a much different place.

As he continued onward, he started to hear a slight creaking noise coming from up ahead. It was easily discernible in the still night air, it was slow and rhythmic, and the two sounds he heard were distinctly different. It could best be described as a small, drawn out _creak_ sound followed by a similarly small and drawn out _crank_ sound. Latios recognized that sound; it was the sound made by the old tree swing that Lorenzo had installed for Latias quite some time ago.

As he came within sight of the swing set, he saw Latias, in her natural form, swinging gently on the swing, her claws gripping the ropes that held the swing attached to the tree limb that supported it, her body in an upright position, a somber expression on her face as she stared at the ground. He had approached her from the back, but he was sure that she could sense his arrival, although she gave little to no indication of this. She merely continued to stare at the ground and swing gently back and forth.

"Hello, brother." she said to him, not raising her eyes to his as she said this.

"Uh, hi sis." he replied nervously to her, thinking that he walked in on some big private moment. "What are you doing up so late?" he asked in a mild scolding tone.

She continued to swing gently back and forth, still not raising her eyes. "Nothing. Just thinking, is all." she replied quietly.

Latios raised an eyebrow in confusion. "About what?" he asked.

Latias didn't reply; she just continued swinging back and forth.

After a few moments, Latios finally realized what was on his sister's mind; he was surprised at himself for not immediately recognizing it. His face grew soft and he spoke in a gentle tone to his sister "Thinking about him, huh?"

Latias made no reply; but Latios noticed her give the tiniest of nods. She then began to speak, her face attaining a wistful air as she did. "It was here that I first revealed myself to him, Latios. It was here that I showed my true form to him for the first time. He was the first human that I ever revealed my true form to other than Bianca or Lorenzo. Do you remember that?" she said tonelessly.

Latios chuckled at the memory. "Heh, yeah, as I remember it, Ash nearly broke his jaw when he fell flat on his face off the swing, he was so shocked." he said.

Latias gave the tiniest of smiles at her brother's words. "Yeah, he was shocked, all right. But you know something Latios? For some reason, after he fell off the swing onto his face, my first thought wasn't to laugh at his misfortune, like I'd normally do with you or anyone else." This remark prompted an angry glare from said brother. "Instead, I actually felt _worried_ about his condition. I was worried that he might've been really hurt or something, and that my revealing myself to him caused this to happen to him made me feel horrible inside. But I was so happy when he said that he wasn't hurt and that he didn't blame me for it; I was so relieved when he said that." she reminisced happily.

They both fell into silence for a few minutes then, neither of them saying a word. The wind rustled in the trees, the crickets continued their nighttime symphony, and the fireflies continued to flash intermittently in the darkness. Finally, Latios decided to ask the question that he had been wanting to ask his sister for the past year, that up until now, she had been unwilling to discuss, but now seemed like she was willing to.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently.

Immediately Latias ceased rocking back and forth on the swing, her face worried.

"It's okay, Latias. I promise I won't be mad with you, you can trust in me as your brother. I've never once thought ill of your feelings for Ash, never once in the past year and four months have I ever voiced any disapproval regarding it. I just feel that by discussing your feelings for him with me will allow you to gain new perspective on the subject and also allow you to release any pent-up emotions you might be having; it'll definitely be better to discuss it now than when we go to visit him in a few days, and it'll probably do you a world of good just to get it off your chest." he quickly pointed out to her, with the utmost sincerity.

Latias continued to maintain a worried look, but Latios could tell that her inside, her thoughts were conflicting, one side of them wanting to talk to him, the other side not wanting to. However, after a few moments, the former side seemed to win out, as she took a deep breath and slowly let it out before saying "All right, brother. I see your point. No sense in keeping it contained forever. What would you like to know?"

"When did you first realize you were in love with him?" he asked.

She talked in a small, controlled voice as she answered. "I guess it was when he saved me from Annie and Oakley. When I was being chased by them, I was literally terrified. I was afraid of what they might do to me and what plans they had for me. I thought I was done for when that Ariados trapped me in its Spider Web. But then, out of nowhere, this boy and his Pikachu appear, frees me without a second thought, attacks and defeats those thugs and their Pokémon, and then helps me to escape. At the moment, I couldn't understand why a human would do such a thing, to risk life and limb to save someone he barely knew, but then after a while, after he had helped me escape, that thought didn't puzzle me anymore. Instead, I felt my heart go out to this mysterious young boy whom I barely knew, and it awakened a feeling inside me that I had never felt before. I did not know it at the time, but now I realize it was love all along. I felt myself wanting to see him again, wanting to see that kind and caring face one more time, to introduce myself to him, to thank him for saving my life."

"What about during the Tour de Alto Mare? Did you love him then?" Latios asked.

"No, not then. At that time, I just thought of him as another Trainer, who was in need of a big save, lest he break his back against the wall. So I helped him out that time, and I'm glad I did so, otherwise he wouldn't have been around to save me from Annie and Oakley. Although, at that time, I did make him out to be kind of cute-looking; I guess that helped to influence my subsequent actions: helping him get back in the race by dragging his water racer by the handle, I just couldn't stand to see such a cute face look so sad. I guess you were sort of in the right by dragging me and him off like that, I should've known better." she answered.

"As I said then, cheaters never win, but I guess I can forgive you for acting like that, you did it with the best intentions at heart, after all." Latios said.

His sister gave a small smile. "Thanks, brother." she said.

"So, did the fact that you were a Pokémon and Ash a human ever occur to you? How do you expect him to have the same feelings for you as you do for him? Do you honestly think that you could get him to love you back, being what you are?" he proceeded to ask her in a more serious tone.

Latias' face started to well up as he asked these questions. She tried to make an effort to hide it by turning her face away from him, but it was of little use. She couldn't restrain her small sobs, or the tears that ran down her feathers as she did so.

Latios, seeing this, quickly flew over to her and embraced her in a light, comforting hug. "Oh, I'm sorry, sis. I didn't mean to sound so insensitive. But these questions must've occurred to you by now, so you must've known they were coming." he said gently.

Sensing his sister to be under control now, he broke off from the embrace and flew back a few feet, allowing Latias to get her bearings. She sniffled gently a few times and wiped the tears from her eyes with a claw before continuing.

"I know, Latios, I know. It's just that, being confronted by them now, I find myself at a loss for words as to how to answer them." she said sadly.

"Am I aware that he's a human and I'm a Pokémon? Of course I'm aware of that; I'm constantly reminded of it every time I think of him or every time I see my own reflection! I actually started hating myself for being what I was, at the thought that I would never truly be able to be with him, that he would never be able to love me, just because I was a Pokémon!" she said angrily.

"But you can take the form of a human! That must give you some comfort!" Latios pointed out to her.

"Even if it did, it still would not erase the fact of what I really was! I would never be able to fool myself into believing I could actually pass as a human. It would just be some elaborate farce, one that is destined to fail eventually. I could never bring myself to do that, Latios. Pretending to be something you're not never works out well for you or anyone else involved. It's just not proper. If I want Ash to love me, then I want him to love me as I am now, in my true form, rather than as a cheap cardboard imitation of what a human should be like!" she explained irately.

"I understand your feeling there, sis. Better to have someone love you for who you truly are or not at all." Latios said in agreement. His sister smiled at him again before continuing.

"As for whether or not he holds the same feelings for me as I do for him now, I can't say for sure, Latios. After all, he's only thirteen years old right now, while we're over a century old. Most humans, at that age, have little or no conception of what love is, either that, or they're just starting to experience them." she continued to explain.

"And you think Ash is one of those humans?" Latios asked. He then put a picture in his sisters' mind of Ash's reaction to her kissing him on the day they left. It was another one of his special abilities; he was able to show other people or Pokémon memories of what he had already seen by transmitting them directly into their minds.

Latias laughed at the memory her brother showed her. "Yeah, definitely. I sure took him by surprise, didn't I?"

"You took _all_ of us by surprise, sis. Not just Ash." Latios answered with a chuckle.

Latias gave a small sigh. "I guess I can't blame him though, for reacting like that. But I just couldn't let him go without giving him something to remember me by."

"Well, I don't think you have to worry there, sis. You definitely gave him something to remember you by, no doubt about that!" Latios laughed.

Latias gave an annoyed glance over at her brother, who was still laughing. "Are you quite finished?"

Latios quickly composed himself, although slight giggles continued to escape past his lips. "Yep. I'm finished." he said with a smile. Latias just rolled her eyes at him.

"But still, in the brief time you knew him, did you get the impression that he might've had feelings for you?" Latios asked, having gotten his composure under control.

"I don't know, brother. There's a part of me that thinks that he might have feelings for me, the way he saved me from Annie and Oakley, the time we spent playing in the garden, the way he held me in his arms and comforted me when I went to him after you had been captured, it made me feel that he actually did have feelings for me, although he probably wouldn't have understood those feelings at the time, again, given how young he is. But still, I sensed it all the same, somewhere deep in the reaches of his heart, a tiny inkling of what his true feelings for me were." Latias answered back.

"Well, sis, if you say you sensed it, it must be true. After all, you know how to read a human's true feelings and emotions better than any other Pokémon, at least to my knowledge. So if you sensed that he did harbor some feelings for you somewhere deep in his heart, despite how small they seemed at the time, that doesn't erase the fact that _they were there_, sis, and you sensed them! How much more proof do you need regarding his feelings towards you, given all that?" Latios asked her.

Latias was quiet for a few moments, taking in what her brother had just said, turning it over in her mind. Finally she spoke again, and now it seemed as if she had become more confident in speaking. "I suppose some of what you say is true, brother, and I thank you for pointing it out to me. But still, it's been over a year since I last saw him. Who's to say that the feelings he supposedly has for me haven't vanished since then? Do you think he'd even remember me, given how long it's been?" she posed to him.

Latios scoffed at the question. "Are you kidding? Of course he'd remember you, sis! You're a Legendary Pokémon! Any human would not easily forget their encounter with such a Pokémon, no matter how much time passes. I'm sure with Ash that holds doubly true. He shared a dramatic experience with the two of us while he was here, saving both our lives, saving the city from untold destruction, and defeating those wretched thugs Annie and Oakley. All during that time, we developed a bond with him that we had never had before with any other human besides Bianca and Lorenzo. Ever since the incident, I started to think of him as a sort of second brother to me, one whom I'm eternally grateful to for saving your life and mine, as well as that of our beloved city, and also being someone who I could place my complete trust in. And of course, you developed your own personal bond with him over the course of his stay in Alto Mare, although with you it turned out to be more than just friendship. Do you actually think he could forget us, given those events we shared together?" Latios asked his sister incredulously.

Latias smiled. "Heh, I guess not." she said. "But what about the feelings I sensed in him? Do you think they might've vanished by now?" she then asked.

Latios shrugged his shoulders. "To be honest, sis, I don't know. You'll just have to find out for yourself when we go to visit him at the Ever Grande Conference. Then you'll be able to find out if the feelings you sensed in him have either grown, remained as they are, or as you fear, have vanished entirely. I'm not as good a judge at human emotions as you are, so again, this is something you'll have to figure out for yourself." he said.

Latias nodded solemnly and proceeded to remain quiet for a few moments, turning over what her brother had just said in her mind. Eventually, she spoke up again, with a look of surprise on her face. "You said we're still going to the Ever Grande Conference? But what about Annie and Oakley? Shouldn't we be worried about whether they'll come back here or not? You said it yourself that they'll come back." she asked worriedly.

Latios shook his head as he explained to his sister. "No, sister, I said they _might_ come back. I didn't say it was a given. Odds are, those two thugs will be captured again in the coming days. They can't possibly continue to run for long with the entire Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn regions keeping a look out for them and wanted posters for them posted on every street corner and store. They'll be back behind bars in no time, you'll see."

For a moment, Latias didn't appear convinced. She still looked uneasily at the ground, her amber eyes clearly worried, her mouth set in a deep frown. But then she seemed to shrug the uneasiness off, and turned to look at her brother and nodded. "All right, brother. I guess you're right." she said.

Latios smiled at her. "That a girl!" he said encouragingly. "Don't worry about it, it'll be fine. Besides, how dumb do you think they'd be to want to take both of us on at the same time, now that we're more experienced?"

"Yeah, we'd kick their butts in a second!" his sister shouted enthusiastically.

"I'm sure we will, sis." Latios responded, amused by his sister's enthusiasm. Suddenly he was taken by a large yawn that made him realize how tired he still was. "Hey, sis, it's really late. What do you say we go back to bed now? We can discuss this more in the morning." he asked her.

Latias herself seemed pretty tired now, so she was glad when Latios suggested. "All right, bro. Good idea." Having said this, she released her grip on the swing and flew over to Latios, and together they started to head back to the spot that they usually slept in.

"Hey, brother?" Latias said as they slowly continued on their way.

"Yeah, sis?"

"You're not mad or anything, are you? You know, about my feelings for Ash?"

Latios stopped in his tracks as Latias asked this question, forcing her to do the same. He looked at her with a mixture of incredulity and amusement. "What? Of course not! My sister being in love with someone? Why would I be mad about something like that! Sure, Ash is a human, but I'm not making a big deal out of it! If anything, I respect that you hold such a deep affection for him, and to me, there would be no greater joy than to see you happily sharing your life with the one you love, and let me just say that you could not have picked a better person to do so with than Ash." he said. His face then took on a more worried tone as he continued. "If anything, I'm worried about how you might react if it turns out that Ash doesn't hold the same feelings for you as you do for him, or if he does, does not want to admit them in public. You must understand, Latias, that a relationship between a human and a Pokémon is highly unusual and is generally frowned upon in the human community. I've heard stories of Trainers who've had their licenses taken away from them and also had their entire reputation destroyed for engaging in what the human community terms "Poképhilia". They are labeled as outcasts from society, and are shunned mercilessly whenever they appear in public. People who they once thought of as their friends and even sometimes their family renounce ever having known them or having anything to do with them. So, Latias, if it turns out that Ash doesn't want to take that risk, even if it does turn out he has feelings for you, I want you to promise me that you won't try to force the issue on him. In the end, it's his decision to make, and I want you to respect that choice, whatever it may be."

Latias was silent for a moment, contemplating her brother's words. Finally, she nodded and said "Okay, brother. I understand what you're saying. I promise to not force the issue on him."

"Cross your heart and hope to die?" Latios asked airily.

Latias made the gesture traditional to this question, by crossing a claw over her chest. "Yep!"

"Stick a needle in your eye?" Latios asked again, this time saying it a little faster.

"Yep!"

"Jab a dagger in your thigh?" again, faster.

"Yep!" (even though they didn't technically _have _thighs to speak of…)

"Eat a Miltank pie?" Latios asked with a wicked grin.

Latias recoiled in horror. "Ew, brother, that's gross!"

Latios laughed openly at his sister's reaction. "Just kidding, just kidding!" he said, holding up his claws in placatement.

Latias rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother…"

They then continued on their way back. Suddenly Latias realized something. "So wait, you said that you're actually _supporting_ me in all this? It doesn't bother you in any way?" she asked incredulously.

Latios turned to her with a tender look on his face. "Of course not, Latias." he said gently. "What kind of a brother would I be if I didn't show support or respect for my sister in all things, including love? Who am I to judge you on what your heart truly wants?"

At this he placed a claw gently on her shoulder and looked into her eyes, with every ounce of his love for her apparent in both his face and in his words, "If this is the path you wish to follow, sister, know that I will support you through it the whole way, no matter what the outcome, for better or for worse. You are my sister, Latias, and I love you with all my heart."

Latias' face shown with emotion at her brother's tender words. Tears appeared in her eyes and she threw her arms around Latios in a loving hug. "Oh, brother, thank you, thank you! I love you too!"

Latios smiled and returned the loving gesture. In that moment, with Latios comforting an emotional Latias, and Latias in turn being grateful for her brother's selfless support, one could truly appreciate the value of family.

...

The next few days passed uneventfully, with Latios and Latias continuing their daily patrols around the city, occasionally interspersed with a playful game of tag or hide-and-go-seek to pass the time, eagerly awaiting the day they would leave to head to the Ever Grande Conference. In the evenings, they would usually go to visit Bianca and Lorenzo at their house to discuss the day's events over dinner before heading back to the garden to rest.

All during this time, Latios could not help but feel a sense of foreboding; ever since he saw on the news that those dastardly Team Rocket agents, Annie and Oakley, the ones that had nearly killed him, his sister, and Ash, whom Latios considered to be a friend of the family and akin to a second brother, and had put the city in such grave peril, had broken out of prison and were now at large again, he found himself constantly worrying about his and his sister's safety. "What if they do come back?" he asked himself. "Will I be able to defend Latias and the Soul Dew, this time without Ash's help? Will all the training we did be enough to stop them?" He did know one thing, however, and it was something he looked forward to doing with an almost bloodthirsty eagerness: If those two bitches so much as _dared_ to bring harm to him and his sister, or to their friends, or to their beloved city, he swore he would make them regret the day they were born. There would be no mercy coming from his this time around.

...

The day started off just like most of the days in Alto Mare usually did: sunny, hot, and humid. However, as the day progressed into the early evening, a large squall which had formed a ways off the coast in the earlier hours began making its way towards Alto Mare. The normally orange and rosy glow that sunset brings was marred by the dark storm cloud which were massed offshore, still a few hours away.

Latios and Latias, not wanting to get caught up in the storm, decided to end their visit with Bianca and Lorenzo a little earlier that night, and both of them flew back to the garden, where they whiled away the hours playing games, until around 8:30 p.m., when they decided to settle in for an early night. They took the precaution of sleeping far away from any of the trees, as this storm looked to be exceedingly nasty. They took shelter in a gazebo that Lorenzo had built many years ago, and curling up against each other for warmth, both fell quickly asleep.

...

On the water just outside the city, a medium-sized jet boat sat idly, the waves that were being blown up by the coming storm causing it to gently rise and fall. The occupants consisted of a half dozen Team Rocket grunts, all clad in the traditional outfit of Team Rocket, an all-black uniform emblazoned with a crimson colored R in the middle with a black colored beret on their heads. Each of them carried 1 or 2 Poké Balls on their belts. Their faces were set in a look of grim determination, the attitude all Team Rocket members adopted when about to undertake a mission. They sat solemnly in the seats at the back of the boat, each of them suppressing the urge to vomit over the side as the boat continued to rise and fall with the waves, which were getting stronger as the storm front moved closer, the dark clouds providing a sharp contrast to the setting sun.

At the head of the boat were Annie and Oakley, clad in their usual attire which differentiated them from the grunts. Oakley was sitting in the driver's seat while Annie was standing on the port side of the boat, staring out at city through a pair of binoculars.

"There it is." Annie said lowering her binoculars. "Brings back good memories, don't it, Oakley?" she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Oakley scoffed. "Yeah, of us getting our asses handed to us by some punk-ass Trainer and his Pikachu and a couple inexperienced psychic dragons, in turn landing us in prison? Yeah, how could I forget?" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I think it's time for some payback, don't you?" Annie said grinning while removing from a holster at her side a nickel-plated forty-four magnum revolver, bringing it up to eye level and opening the fully loaded six-round chamber for one last check. Satisfied, she gave the chamber wheel a spin before snapping it back into place with a quick flick of the wrist before putting it back the shoulder holster. _'Honestly, I don't see why we're not allowed to carry side arms more often. The last time I checked, bad guys and guns went hand in hand together, so why can't we have them all the time? It'd sure make things a hell of a lot easier.' _Annie thought to herself. _'Not to mention the fact that I feel like such a badass while wearing one.' _she smugly added as an afterthought.

"You're definitely right there, my dear sister." Oakley said before grabbing a nine millimeter semi-automatic pistol and its twelve-round magazine off the hood of the boat's dashboard. She gently inserted the magazine into the pistol's grip before slamming it up to lock it into place and pulling back on the slide action, chambering the first round in the barrel. She looked down the sights of the pistol for a moment before placing it in her own shoulder holster. "And this time, there'll be no idiot Trainers around to interfere." she said with an evil grin on her face.

"I trust there will no more _incidents_ like last time? I do not want to have to pull your ass out of the fire again because of your own stupidity. Are we clear on that, sister?" Annie asked.

Oakley sighed in exasperation. "Yes, Annie." she said wearily. There was no one in the world Oakley cared for more than Annie, but there were times where she could be a world-class bitch. It had been this way ever since they were kids growing up in the city of Goldenrod.

"Do you think this storm front that's coming in threatens to pose a problem to the mission?" Annie asked as she cast a worried look at the dark storm clouds which were almost upon them.

"Not particularly, no." Oakley answered as she too turned to look at the foreboding storm clouds. "In this case, it may actually benefit us. Most of, if not all of the city's population will be indoors on a night like this, allowing us to move through the streets with little to no incident; navigating along the rooftops would be a bad bet in this instance, I think, since the rain will make the rooftops slick, easy to lose your footing on. The rain may also serve to help mask our movements; it should be easy to remain undetected by the authorities, should there be any patrolling on a night like this. And finally, the falling rain basically makes the Lati twins' power of invisibility useless; the rain falling on their invisible forms would be a dead giveaway. Although I do admit that the getaway will prove rather difficult, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." she explained to her sister.

"Do you really think that Latios and Latias will be more of a problem this time around?" Annie asked.

"Arceus knows they've had plenty of time to prepare for it; I imagine their battle skills have improved considerably since the last time we saw them. But still, that's why we brought back-up this time." Oakley said while gesturing to the Grunts sitting in the back of the boat, most of them looking extremely unwell at this point; one of them finally lost it and turned around, vomiting over the side of the boat. Despite their discomfort, all of them knew better than to complain, as it would most likely result in a swift punishment from their commanders, thus, they kept quiet, knowing they'd soon be on dry land again making their discomfort easier to bear.

"I still can't help but get a bad feeling about this, Oakley. They are Legendary Pokémon, after all, and I don't think that this time we can expect any mercy from them should we somehow lose." Annie said while worriedly folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh, come on, Annie, stop worrying." Oakley chided her sister "You seem to be forgetting the fact that we hold the advantage over them, in both numbers and experience. If we were able to do it once, we'll be able to do it again." she explained to Annie in an encouraging tone.

Annie was silent for a few moments before letting out a weary sigh. "Alright, Oakley, I suppose you're right. I'm with you all the way." she said. '_I just hope you know what you're getting us into, sister. Messing around with Legendary Pokémon is a sure way to get yourself killed.' _she thought to herself.

Oakley smiled. "Thanks Annie. Don't worry; I'll make sure we'll both come out of this alright."

She then got up out of her seat and went back to face the Grunts. Their eyes turned to look at her as she started to speak in an authoritative voice. "All right, I assume we're all clear on everyone's purpose here?" All of the Grunts wordlessly nodded their heads, not trusting to open their mouths. Oakley then continued "Good. Now listen up, cause I'm only going to say this once. You are all here to assist in the subduing and capturing of the Legendary twin Pokémon, Latios and Latias. Once we dock, we will all proceed through the city to Latios and Latias' known location: a secret garden protected by illusions to mask its location and entrances. Agents Annie and I have been to this garden before, and so we know exactly where it is located. You will follow our lead as we make our way through the city, avoiding any unnecessary attention along the way, until we arrive at the entrance to the garden. Once we enter, we should do our best to take the two by surprise. However, failing that, we will engage the two in battle, with each of you using your chosen Pokémon. Just to be clear, Latios and Latias are Legendary Pokémon of Dragon and Psychic typing. They are extremely intelligent and will attempt to confuse you by turning invisible, and as such should be approached in battle with extreme caution. However, the coming storm may serve to help us; the rain will clearly outline their invisible forms, so should they turn invisible, do not panic, and keep a sharp eye out for any irregularities in the rain fall, and have your Pokémon attack that spot. Once they have been sufficiently weakened, Agents Annie and I will use the specialized capture nets provided us to subdue the twins for transport back to this boat. Once we have them aboard, we will proceed back to the dock in Kanto we departed from, where a truck will be waiting to transport us and the Legendaries back to Team Rocket headquarters, where you will all receive your debriefing. Are there any questions?"

She was greeted with nothing but the sound of the wind and the rolling waves and the creaking of the boat's hull.

Oakley nodded. "Good. Make sure to follow our orders and we'll all get out of this fine." She then turned around and headed back to her seat at the boat's steering wheel, turning the key in the ignition bringing the boat out of its idle state with a roar of the boat's motor and placing her hands on the steering wheel. She gave one last look at Annie. "Are you ready?" she asked.

Annie took her seat before answering "Yes. Let's do this." while staring straight ahead, her face adopting a determined look.

Oakley nodded and pushed the handle up on the throttle, causing the vessel to roar forward, leaving a trail of spray and small waves in its wake. Oakley turned the wheel, setting the boat on a course for Alto Mare. The high speed that the boat was going caused both her and Annie's hair to blow back in the wind. The Grunts in the back turned their heads to look at their destination, making sure to hold onto their hats, lest the wind blow them off their heads into the sea. As the boat glided along the sea towards Alto Mare, the first few drops of rain began to fall, signaling the arrival of the storm. The rainfall was gradual at first, before turning into a veritable downpour. The inhabitants of the boat were soaked within minutes, but they ignored it and continued on. Forks of lightning started to light up the sky and thunder crashed in the lightning's wake as the boat continued to head towards its destination.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I hope you all liked my portrayal of Latios and Latias! Whoo, that chapter turned out longer than I expected!<strong>

**Stay tuned for the next chapter in which Team Rocket executes their deadly play and Latios' life is changed forever.**

**Odds are that the next time you see this fic updated, it'll have an M rating, so it won't be visible by default. Bear that in mind if you plan to continue reading this story.**

**And let me know what you think in a review!**


	3. A Night of Blood and Tears pt 1

**Hello everyone! csigamer1990 here with my newest chapter to Scarred! **

**Okay, first off, I just want to point out that initially, this chapter was turning out to be SUPER-LONG in length; I had almost 36,700 words for it total. And to tell you the truth, I had a feeling it was going to go on for quite a while longer. So in the end, I decided to split this chapter into two parts, in order to give you all something to read while I finish up the second part, which is already mostly done, as well as give you something to look forward to when I post the second part. I know some of you might be opposed to me splitting this chapter into two parts, but it was getting to be such a big hassle for me to continue to write such an extremely long chapter that I had a feeling would stretch on for quite a ways more, and it's already been more than 6 months since I posted my last chapter! I didn't want to keep the people who've been patiently waiting for this chapter for so long waiting any longer, so I hope you'll understand my decision. :)**

**As I promised, the rating of the story has been changed to an M. If you have any qualms over graphic violence, blood and gore, and strong language, I highly suggest you turn away now, but then again, if you're reading this now, by making the M rated fics visible, or have been reading this since I began the story, then you're probably expecting this.**

**I'd like to thank ARCEUS-master for beta-reading this chapter and becoming my official beta-reader for this fic. His input really helped make this chapter better. Thank you so much, my friend! :D**

**And now, without further ado, I give you…A Night of Blood and Tears pt. 1.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters.**

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"_Telepathy"_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

**A Night of Blood and Tears pt. 1**

"_The only thing worse than an enraged Pokémon, is an enraged _Legendary _Pokémon. _

_Believe me when I say I know that from experience."-Ash Ketchum_

The storm hit Alto Mare like a tidal wave. The rain, which by now was coming down in sheets, fell on the green-shingled rooftops, creating a symphony of noise sounding like rapid rat-a-tat's, running down their slanting angle into waiting storm drains which drained the water into the streets, which by now were slick with water. The light given off by the lampposts lining the streets illuminated them, giving them a watery sheen. Rain collected in puddles in various parts of the cobbled streets where there were stones missing from them, and it also ran in between the small cracks between the stones, running towards storm drains placed at various spots around the city, which in turn drained the water back to the sea. The rain also drilled into the canalways lining the city; the force in which it was coming down created countless tiny impact splashes as the rain hit the water in the canalways. The wind that was blowing caused tiny waves to appear in the canals, forcefully breaking apart at their sides, causing spray to shoot up into the air before coming back down, some of the spray landing on the already wet sidewalks lining the canals. The shops and cafes around the city had all locked up early because of the storm, with the open shops having to be boarded up to shield their insides from the rain. All the windows in the houses and other buildings around the city had sensibly been shuttered from the driving rain. Some houses had their lights on inside, casting a pale yellow glow through the windows out into the terrible, dreary night.

Bolts of lightning lanced through the sky, briefly illuminating the sodden landscape around Alto Mare with a bright white flash, followed closely by immense claps of thunder that sometimes seemed to shake the very air with its loudness. Needless to say, the people of Alto Mare would not be getting much sleep tonight.

A few unlucky souls who could not get home in time before the storm began were running as fast as they could through the streets, their arms held futilely above their heads in an effort to block the rain. A few of them were lucky enough to be carrying umbrellas, although they still made haste to get to wherever they called home as soon as possible, their feet splashing along as they ran down the soaked streets, although they took care not to slip on the wet streets in their haste.

All of the wild Pokémon native to the island were all hunkering down in whatever shelter they could manage, be it trees, bushes, awnings, or even underground, most of them shivering in fright as the storm unleashed its fury upon the big island city.

It was most definitely not a night you would expect to see people out and about in, but for one group of people, who were swiftly and silently making their way through the pouring rain, their black clothes making them practically invisible in the rain and darkness, with only the flashes of lightning serving to mark their progress through the city, the rain was the least of their concerns.

…

Annie and Oakley came to a sudden halt to get their bearings and to give them and the Grunts following behind them a quick breather. They were currently at a four-way street intersection. Each of the corners were lit up by a lamppost, casting the street in an eerie glow, illuminating its watery sheen. There were shops and restaurants along the length of these streets, all of them dark and locked up tight, of course.

The rain had had a significant impact on the two Team Rocket spies, particularly on their hairstyles.

Annie's normally tight beehive-shaped bun formations had completely fallen apart, turning it into a straight sopping wet mess of tangles and split ends. The bangs In front of her eyes were also dripping with water, which sometimes caused it to cling to her face. Sighing in exasperation, she raised a gloved hand to her face and pushed the rain-soaked bang to the side of her face, which was glistening with wetness. Needless to say, she was in one of the blackest moods, which she made certain her sister knew about by saying, "Goddammit! My hair is fucking _ruined!_ Do you have any idea how long it takes to get my hair just right, Oakley? Do you know how much effort it takes to keep my perfect hair looking the way it is? Well, it's obvious to me that you don't!"

A vein of anger appeared on Oakley's face and she gritted her teeth in suppressed fury. She wasn't much better off than her sister, in terms of appearance. Her normally styled silver-blue hair had completely fallen straight down, no longer having the winged-shaped stylings she normally had. The wind, when it picked up, blew the neck-length hair around willy-nilly, to the back, sides, and sometimes blowing around into her face which, like her sister's bangs, clung to her wet face. Inwardly, she was seething. _'Oh shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! FOR THE LOVE OF ARCEUS, PLEASE SHUT UP!' _She was strongly considering turning around and punching her sister in the nose. _That _would definitely shut her up! But that would definitely not be good for the mission, so she had to restrain herself, barely.

But Annie was not done. In addition to their hairstyles, it was needless to say that the two ladies were completely soaked from head to toe. Their black leather tank tops and pants were able to repel some of the wetness, but the bare areas around their arms, shoulders and chest were completely exposed to the chilly rain, which was only made worse by the wind. The gloves on their hand offered little in the way of protection, the rain soaking through the thin cloth onto the skin beneath. Both of them were now wishing fervently that they had brought along some more weather appropriate clothing, but they couldn't do anything about it now. She looked down at her thoroughly soaked clothes, and said while gesturing to them, "And look! My clothes are completely ruined! Do you know how much this outfit cost me, Oakley? Not to mention that it was custom-fitted for me? Do you have an-"

However, she didn't get any further, because at that moment, Oakley couldn't take it anymore. She turned around to face her sister, her face livid with rage. "Shut up, Annie! Shut up! No one gives a fuck about your hair or your stupid clothes! Do you see any of _us_ complaining about being cold or being wet? No! And you know why? Because _we_ are concentrating on what is important at the moment, namely the mission, and not bitching and moaning about how wet we are! So I suggest you do the same, right now, before you drive me insane with your stupid complaining!" she ranted angrily.

Annie was taken aback by her sister's sudden outburst; she had never seen her sister so mad at her before. Thoroughly stunned, she managed to quietly say, "O-okay, Oakley. I get you, just calm down, okay?"

Having vented her anger and thus quieting her sister, Oakley turned back to stare around the street, trying to remember the way to take.

"You _do _remember the way, don't you!" Annie asked after a while, having to shout to make herself heard over the falling rain, strong wind, and claps of thunder.

Oakley took a quick look around the intersection before turning back to her sister to answer. "Of course I remember!" she snapped. "It's just difficult, what with all this rain! It wasn't raining the last time we were here, you know!"

Annie folded her arms across each other tightly, sticking her hands into her armpits for warmth. She looked at her sister crossly. "Well, hurry up and remember! I don't want to be standing here all night getting soaked and freezing my ass off! Plus, we need to keep moving! What if a cop shows up, what with you having screamed loud enough to wake the dead?"

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the street with a brief white light, followed closely by a clap of thunder. The sisters showed no reaction to it; they had no fear of the elements. The Grunts, on the other hand, were not as unflappable. They all gave a slight involuntary crouch, their faces cringing and looking worriedly upward as the lightning and thunder flashed and sounded, respectively.

They, unlike their two commanding agents, were more appropriately dressed for the weather, with their thick long-sleeved black uniforms with the big crimson R and black pants, thick leather gloves, black boots, and black beret serving to keep the majority of the rain off of their skin, although their clothes did glisten with wetness. But, of course, this still left their unprotected faces, which were just as wet as their commanders. However, their berets served to keep their hair dry, droplets of water hitting them and falling off their sides. Beads of water could be seen clinging to each of the beret's brims, gradually getting larger as more rain was absorbed into that bead before finally dropping off onto the ground.

To answer her sister's question, Oakley spread out her arms, slightly raising them toward the pouring sky. "Do you _actually believe _that we'll see _any_ police officers patrolling on a night like this?" she asked her sister loudly and incredulously.

Annie looked worriedly at her sister as she replied. "You never know, Oakley! The police here have no doubt by now been made aware of our escape from prison, and if that's the case, what with our past history here, nearly destroying the city and all, they're sure to be looking out for us, even on a night like this!"

Oakley scoffed at her sister before turning back to look at the streets, trying to remember the right way to take. "Come on, Annie! That's bullshit and you know it!" she yelled haughtily over her shoulder.

Annie's eyes narrowed in anger, but she decided to let it go for now. "Whatever you say, Oakley." she muttered angrily, knowing her sister wouldn't hear her. She sincerely hoped her sister was right, but she had a nagging feeling that her sister was wrong in this case.

Oakley, meanwhile, had finally remembered the correct route to take. Taking a moment to brush the wet strands of hair out of her eyes, she turned her head over her shoulder, speaking in a loud voice so as to be heard by her sister as well as the Grunts in back. "Come on, it's this way!" she instructed while pointing to the street on the left side.

The group then continued silently on their way, running across more brightly lit intersections, down residential side-streets, through dirty and grimy alleyways, and across and along the canalways, sometimes running across stone bridges that connected the two sides of the canal, and sometimes running along their sides, trying not to get drenched by the crashing spray resulting from the waves hitting the sides of the canal.

They eventually reached the main plaza, running across its immense length, with the Alto Mare museum standing out with its immense prominence, even in the rain and darkness. Rain fell in miniature cascades from the spires and the archway that served as its entrance, hitting the ground with forceful splatters. As another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the plaza, the museum cast its immense shadow across the length of the plaza, seeming to stretch out like a shadowy specter across the plaza's length. As Annie and Oakley crossed through the plaza, the Grunt soldiers following closely behind, they could not help glancing up at the museum, in which they had been in themselves that night over a year ago, as they used the captured Soul Dew and Latios to power up the ancient machine known as the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare, and how Oakley had proceeded to go mad with the machine's immense power, almost destroying the entire city, before the Trainer named Ash Ketchum and Latios' sister Latias had shown up to stop them, managing to defeat Annie and her Espeon, and had then managed to free Latios from the life-draining sphere he was trapped in, which in turn powered down the DMA, allowing Annie to reach her sister before the machine malfunctioned, sealing the two of them inside its central command sphere, where they had remained until they were captured the following morning. Wasting no more time on reminiscing, the group continued on their way, reaching the other side of the plaza.

They continued down still more streets, sidestreets, alleyways, and canals (it was a big city after all), with Oakley leading the group unerringly closer to the entrance to the secret garden.

Annie, meanwhile, was still worried. There was that sensation inside her that just seemed to scream that something was going to go wrong, but… she couldn't quite put her finger on what. But for now, she could do nothing more than ignore it and keep going. Still, she thought this approach had been going way too easily up until this point, and that unnerved her to no end. Eventually, their luck was going to run out, which always seemed to happen when things were going their best. And as they rounded a corner onto a walk alongside a canal, her fears were finally realized.

As they ran down the walkway, all of a sudden, they were shocked to see a beam of light appear at the end of the walkway, the falling rain providing a stark contrast against the narrow yellow beam of light that gradually expanded in size at farther distances. It was something that Annie and Oakley recognized immediately from their past work: the searching beam of a flashlight. It was coming out from under an archway facing towards the canal and thankfully, not at them.

But the sight still brought the entire group skidding to a halt, some of them almost slipping on the slick pavement.

"Oh, shit!" Oakley exclaimed quietly with a look of fear on her wet features.

Annie's expression was much the same as her sister's. "Great, what the fuck do we do now, sis?" she asked worriedly as another bolt of lightning streaked across the black sky, with the ever-present clap of thunder not being too far behind.

Oakley began frantically searching around the street as the beam gradually got smaller and narrower, indicating that whoever was using it was nearing the beginning of the street the dark clad crooks were on. Eventually, and with a sigh of relief, she indicated an archway that led into a small side garden alongside the canal. "We hide, that's what! Come on, hurry!" she ordered to everyone behind her, who needed no second bidding as the two female commanders and half-dozen Grunts quickly entered the small garden, which consisted of a small oak tree, trimmed bushes and flowers, some stone benches, a lamppost to illuminate the garden at night, and a bird bath currently overflowing with rain water, with a stone walkway running around it. The pouring rain created a constant pitter-patter against the glimmering green foliage that was visible in the glow from the lamppost. However, the group paid little attention to this as they came in, crouching down and placing their backs to the wall on the left side of the garden's entranceway, where they waited quietly for a while in the pouring rain, catching their breath and calming their racing hearts.

Finally, Annie said in a loud whisper to her sister, "Well, check to see who it is!"

Oakley looked back at her with an irritated look. "What! Why do I have to be the one to check who it is?" she whispered back, an annoyed tone in her voice.

Annie's face changed to one of annoyance and anger. "Because _you _were the one who was soooo confident that we wouldn't run into any problems! Now go see who it is before I really lose my cool with you!" she said angrily while giving Oakley a strong push towards the entranceway.

"Alright, alright, fine!" she said over her shoulder in annoyance. She then proceeded to creep slowly towards the entranceway, taking care to walk as quietly as she could, although the ambient noise created by the rain, thunder, and lightning was more than enough to mask the sound of her footsteps as she squished across the wet grass of the garden, eventually reaching the edge of the entranceway.

Slowly and carefully, she peeked her head around the corner. What she saw made her heart knot in fear, even though she was hidden from sight behind the wall. Coming down the sidewalk lining the canal was a man wearing a black poncho dripping with rain, dark pants, and rain boots. His flashlight shined brightly down the sidewalk, drops of rain visibly falling through the bright beam it created, which nearly blinded Oakley. However, it wasn't these things that caused Oakley such fear. It was the silver badge gleaming on the man's poncho, and the soaked cap he was wearing that was unmistakable in its design, both of which clearly identified him as an officer of the law.

Cursing inwardly at herself for her sheer stupidity and arrogance, she looked back towards her sister and the Grunts a little ways behind her and signaled them to stay quiet and to keep down, which she accomplished by first putting a finger to her lips, and then sticking her hand straight out, gently raising it up and down. The group immediately understood the seriousness of these gestures, which could only mean that the person on the other side of the wall they were on was a cop, and became as quiet as possible, each of them hardly daring to breathe despite the ambient noise that masked their breathing. It was just a natural survival instinct for those who were in danger of being caught, one that could not be controlled any more than blinking could.

Meanwhile, Oakley again carefully peeked around the corner, monitoring the officer's progress down the street. _'If we just remain here and be as quiet as possible, he'll probably just pass us by.' _she thought to herself. She sincerely hoped so, as she realized that his skills in unarmed combat and her near-gymnastic athletic ability would be useless in this enclosed space. She'd have to fall back on more lethal measures…

As the officer got closer to the entranceway, Oakley's heart began to beat faster, the fear of being caught serving to amplify this, until she could actually hear her heart pounding in her chest.

The cop strided within view of the entranceway, and Oakley quickly pulled her head back behind the wall so as not to be seen. The cop stopped outside the archway to shine his flashlight into the small garden on his right, but upon seeing nothing apparently amiss, he turned the light away and swung it around to his left side, across the canal, casually observing the area before walking on by; as he walked away, he could be heard whistling a merry tune, "_Singin' in the Rain_" Oakley remembered it as being. As the cop walked away, Oakley released a huge sigh of relief, thinking the trouble had passed. But at that moment, as usual, things went terribly wrong.

Behind Oakley, one of the Grunts began to feel a strong tickling in his nose, and unable to stifle it in time, let loose a tremendous sneeze that rose above the falling rain. "Hah-choo!"

Immediately Annie, Oakley and all of the other Grunts turned to stare at him with open mouth, drops of sweat on their foreheads, with looks of intense fear and panic stamped across each of their faces. The hapless Grunt, realizing what he had just done, looked back at them with the same mixture of fear and panic, only multiplied by a hundredfold.

The cop, who was now about twenty feet past the archway, immediately ceased his whistling and stopped dead in his tracks as the noise reached his ears. Slowly turning to look over his shoulder, he then turned completely around, with his flashlight shining down the way he had just been. "Hello? Who goes there?" he called out down the rainy street in a loud, authoritative voice as lightning lit up the sky.

With the light shining down the street again and the officers' call reaching her, Oakley heart pounded all the more violently. There was no escape out of the garden; it was an enclosed area with no second entrance. They were trapped like Rattatas in a corner, it was only a matter of time until the cop came to investigate where the noise had come from.

Annie quickly came over to her sister's side and said in a panicked whisper, "What do we do? What do we fucking do?"

Oakley looked at her sister, her face gloomy. "Get back, stay down, and keep everyone quiet. I'll take care of this." she said grimly.

Seeing the look on her sister's face, Annie nodded knowingly and went back over to her original position next to the Grunts.

Taking a quick look around the corner to check on the progress of the cop coming back down the street, and seeing she was still clear from his sight, Oakley took a quick breath before doing a quick combat roll across the archway.

Now on the right side of the archway, Oakley slowly stood up from her crouching position, and when she was fully standing, she slowly pulled from a sheath on her belt a twelve-inch long combat knife. Eight of those inches belonged to the blade, which was stainless steel, one-sided, with a curved tip on the end. The blade's edge appeared to be very sharp, and a narrow blood channel ran from the base of the guard to the curved tip. The hilt itself was black titanium, with a small pinned pommel shape on its end, and a metal guard separated the hilt from the blade.

As the officer started to come back down the street, Oakley clutched the knife close to her heart in a ready position, with the blade facing out, away from her body. The blade could be seen glinting in the dim glow from the lamppost as drops of rain ran down the blade's blood channel, dropping off its tip onto the wet grass Oakley was standing on. Her other arm hung tensely at her side as she looked over to her right, towards the archway, ready, waiting.

The officer continued slowly down the street, wary and cautious in his approach. He could've sworn the noise had come from somewhere close by on this street. "Hello? Who's there?" he shouted out again into the rainy night. "This is Officer Wright of the Alto Mare Police Department! If anyone is out there, I demand that you reveal yourselves immediately!"

Finally, he was standing outside the archway leading into the garden. He raised the flashlight in his right hand above his head, shining it around inside the garden. "Is someone in there? If so, I order you to come out of there now with your hands where I can see them!"

After waiting for a few moments and receiving no reply, the officer rose up the left side of his poncho and unsnapped the holster at his side, drawing his service-issue semi-automatic pistol from it and pointing it in the direction of the archway, turning the safety off as he did so. "This is your last chance! I am ordering whoever is in there to come out with your hands above your heads, or I will come in there and pull you out by force!" he shouted.

After waiting a few more moments and still receiving no reply, the officer started to slowly approach the archway, his left hand holding his pistol out in front of his face, and his right hand holding the flashlight in a position close to his left hand and slightly behind it. He approached the archway, cautious and ready for anything.

Behind the archway on the officers' left side, Oakley tensed, and her grip around the gleaming knife's hilt grew stronger. Her lips drew inward and her eyes narrowed in anticipation as she heard the cop's splashing footsteps draw ever closer.

As soon as she saw the cop's hands move through the archway, she struck with lightning-fast precision, before the officer even had a chance to react.

She first jabbed her knife into the officers' left arm, which caused the officer to let loose an ear-piercing yell of pain and his face to contort in agony, and also made his left hand involuntarily open, causing the gun to drop to the ground, hitting it with a clatter and a splash. Almost at the same time the knife struck flesh, a bolt of lightning lanced though the sky, followed closely by the ever-present clap of thunder, seeming to accentuate the moment of attack.

However, as soon as Oakley saw the gun fall from the cop's hand, she was already in motion for her second strike. She pulled the knife from the officers' arm, causing a small spurt of blood to emerge from the wound as she did so, and then, giving the bloody blade a small flip into a sideways position, she swept it through the air, seeming to cut through the rain itself with its sharpness, burying the blade, all eight inches of it, into the officers' unprotected neck, silencing his scream.

Blood immediately started pouring from the wound site, running down the officers' neck, and warm arterial blood spurted out, staining a major portion of Oakley's gloved hand in a bright crimson, some of it even reaching to fleck her face, leaving small droplets of blood scattered across her face, however, she did not turn her head away like most people, but instead kept her eyes in front of her, her face an emotionless mask, as she watched the officer die. Again, lightning flashed, illuminating the gruesome scene for a brief moment, followed by a loud crash of thunder.

The officer was surprisingly still standing; his face one of surprised shock, his eyes wide and glazed, and his mouth hung openly. A small gurgling noise could be heard coming from his throat, and dribbles of blood began to leak out of the corners of his mouth, and his flashlight dropped from his suddenly limp right hand, clattering to the ground and rolling around in the wet street.

Finally, after a few moments, no sound could be heard from the officer. His eyes were glazed over, non-blinking, and his body was totally limp, although he was still held up by the knife embedded in his throat. He was undoubtedly dead.

Satisfied of this, Oakley withdrew her knife from the man's throat, and the officer immediately fell forward to the ground in a limp heap, a wet splash heralding his arrival. He laid there, his hands at his sides, his hat having been knocked off in the impact, exposing his hair to the elements. His face laid facing towards his left side, his glazed eyes unflinching as the rain impacted on them, his mouth still partly open. Blood began to pool around the officers' body, mixing with the already present rain, making it appear somewhat diluted in appearance as it spread across the walkway, staining the stones red.

Oakley was panting heavily, trying to calm her raging heart down. Her bloodstained knife hung limply in her right hand, drops of blood falling off the tip onto the wet stone below, joining the already expanding blood pool. She wiped her face with her unstained hand, getting rid of the flecks of blood around her face.

She and Annie were certainly no strangers to death: you had to get used to it if you wanted to last in Team Rocket's elite forces, where murder is just another calling card among many. To Oakley, murder was seen as a necessary evil; you must be willing to do anything and everything to complete the mission, even if that means killing another human being.

She was suddenly startled out of her trance by a hand on her shoulder, but it was just Annie. They looked at each other for a moment, then Annie shifted her gaze to the officer's body on the ground in front of them. She looked at the body with a tinge of what looked like sorrow. This wasn't surprising to Oakley: her sister had always had problems when it came to taking a life; she may act all tough and pretend to be a stone cold killer, but when it came time to actually pull the trigger, she folded in upon herself like a house of cards.

Oakley, on the other hand, had no such qualms when it came to killing. If she had to kill someone to accomplish the mission, then she would take that person out, no problem. She had taken to the art of dealing death much easier than her sister had, almost to the point where she actually enjoyed killing, even going as far to say that she obtained a degree of sick and psychotic pleasure from killing a person, to watch his or her life-blood spill onto the floor, to see their bodies twitch in the agonies of death, to see the life drain completely from their eyes as their hearts ceased to beat.

There was just a sense of… well, _blackness_ that governed Oakley's soul, a sense of untold menace and cruelty that, when coupled with an insatiable lust for power and a complete disregard for human life, made for a truly frightening and disturbing individual.

One would certainly wonder how two individuals with such radically different moral codes and ideals could even stand to be in each other's presence for so long. But that person need only look at the fact that Annie and Oakley were sisters, and that question would be answered. After all, as the old saying goes: "Blood is thicker than water."

Well, insofar that you applied said saying to Annie could it be seen as somewhat viable. Oakley, on the other hand…

Eventually, Annie spoke up. "Well, what should we do with the body?" she asked in a flat tone of voice.

Oakley brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes before speaking. "We dispose of it, of course." she answered.

"And how do we do that?"

To answer, Oakley raised her right hand, the one still holding the knife, which by now was nearly clean of blood due to the heavy rainfall washing it off, although some traces of crimson could still be seen on it, and pointed with it, its tip pointing in the direction of the canal. "We dump it in the canal. The water flow should carry the body out to sea."

"Won't they notice him missing?" Annie asked worriedly. Sure, they could take out an officer or two, but they couldn't fight an entire police division.

Oakley lowered her knife hand and answered, "By the time they notice that, we'll be long gone from this place with both the Eon twins and the Soul Dew in our possession."

Annie then looked up towards the sky, which was still pouring with rain, causing her to squint her eyes to shield them from the rainfall. "Well, we'd better hurry this up then. I don't want to be here any longer than necessary; I don't like this night so far, it just gives me a bad feeling." she said, the haunting feeling that something could go terribly wrong never leaving her soul.

Oakley nodded in agreement. She, too, couldn't help but get the heebie-jeebies on a night like this. The unceasing, torrential rainfall, the strong winds that seemed to come and go in intensity, the lightning and thunder, which by now seemed almost commonplace at the rate they appeared in tandem, and most of all, the inky darkness of the night that seemed to pervade every corner of the street, no matter how well the streets were lit up, casting an ever-present feeling of doom and gloom across the entire city. She wanted to get out of her as soon as possible, just like her sister. "Right." she said before turning to face the Grunts, who were still crouched in the corner. She again raised her right hand with the knife still clutched in it, and randomly selected two of them from the group, pointing her knife at them as she did so, saying "Alright, you and you, get over here now!" in a commanding tone.

The selected Grunts hurried over to the sister's sides. One of them quickly saluted and said, "Yes, ma'am?" by way of asking for orders.

Oakley pointed with her knife, gesturing towards the body. "You two are going to help us dispose of this body. One of you will take the legs, the other one will take the shoulders, and you will carry the body to the canal's edge over there," gesturing towards the canal as she said so, "and then dump the body over the railway into the canal. Sound simple enough?" she asked.

They both saluted and gave shouts of "Yes, ma'am!" before hurrying to carry out their orders. One of them gripped the officer's body by the legs, one in each hand, while the other placed his hands underneath the body's shoulder blades, in between the armpits, and then, with a little bit of strain and effort, they managed to lift the body up between them, and then began to slowly make their way towards the canal's edge, the body leaving a trail of droplets of blood that were washed away in seconds along the stones of the walkway.

Oakley, meanwhile, wiped her blade on the wet grass below, removing any last traces of blood from it, before sliding it back into its sheath on her belt.

Annie just watched the scene impassively, her arms crossed. She then gestured with a finger to the pool of diluted blood that was still there, not bothering to uncross her arms. "What about the blood?" she asked.

"Oh, the rain'll wash it away, probably into a nearby storm drain or the canal, so don't worry about that." she answered casually.

"Oh, okay." said Annie.

Meanwhile, the Grunts had managed to reach the edge of the canal. Turning the body so as to be parallel to the railway, they then hoisted the body higher up over the railway, and then, with a nod to each other, dropped it over the edge. The body hit the water with a tremendous splash, and then bobbed up above the waves, where it could be seen being churned about in the waves' momentum, being carried to the right, towards the way they had come from.

The Grunt on the right gave a mock salute and said, "Bon voyage, motherfucker!" in a mocking tone, which elicited a dark chuckle from his companion. They then turned around to head back towards their commanders who were waiting on the other side of the archway.

When they reached them, the Grunt who had saluted before did so again and said, "Task completed, ma'am!"

Oakley nodded in appreciation. "Well done. Wait for us out there, and keep a lookout. We'll be out shortly, and then we'll keep moving." she said.

They both saluted and said "Yes, ma'am." before walking outside the archway and waiting on the other side, underneath an overhang down the street and around the corner. One of them took the time to pull a box of cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket, and being shielded from the majority of the rain by the overhang, managed to light it without much problem. He took a long drag off the cigarette, removed it from his mouth, and exhaled a cloud of smoke. He then offered one to his companion, who gladly accepted and then took the light offered to him. They probably wouldn't get another chance to smoke until the end of the mission, so they took the chance while it lasted.

Annie and Oakley, meanwhile, quickly discussed the route they were taking, making sure they had it right, and when they were confident they had the route down, they turned to face the other four Grunts.

"Alright, as we signal you, come on over and go and join your friends down the street." Oakley called.

One by one, she signaled the first three Grunts to come over and then join the others down the street, until finally, all that remained was the one that had given away their position to the cop. However, he had completely forgotten about that, and that proved to be his final mistake.

As he made to pass Annie and Oakley, he was suddenly taken by surprise when Annie quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and drove her knee upward into his gut, driving the wind out of him and forcing him to his knees. However, he was quickly brought back up to his feet by Annie, who then dragged him bodily into the corner where they had been crouching in, slamming him forcefully up against the wall, causing him to fall to the ground with his back against the wall, his gut still wrenching from the sudden knee it took, and his back stinging from the slam against the wall.

The Grunt was stunned; all he could manage was a weak glance up at the two ladies, Annie right above him, staring down at him with open disdain, the rain pouring down upon her from the low angle at which he was looking at her serving to give her an oddly sinister air, and Oakley a little ways behind her sister, looking over at him with an intense stare, her body facing parallel to him, her arms crossed sternly, and gasp weakly, "What the hell?"

Annie savagely kicked him in the gut, driving the wind out of him a second time, silencing him and at the same time sending him into a world of agony. "Don't play stupid with us!" Annie snarled down at him, "You know exactly why; don't think we haven't forgotten your little error that nearly cost us the mission and almost got us captured!"

The Grunt, whose beret had been knocked off by the savage kick to gut, coughed a little before gasping "I-I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to reveal our position like that, I swear!"

From behind Annie, Oakley could be heard saying with open scorn, "Your boneheaded move could've easily cost the lives of both your fellow soldiers and your commanding officers. You're lucky it was only one cop this time, but it could've easily been much worse. We don't need clumsy and foolish soldiers who could potentially give away our position; such a soldier is not even fit to be in Team Rocket!"

The hapless Grunt, who by now had caught his breath, was shaking with fear and panic. He said in a fearful and pleading voice, "Please, you have to believe me, I didn't mean for it to happen that way! It was a stupid mistake and I'm truly sorry for it; I promise you, it won't happen again!"

Annie, whose expression had not changed, said coldly, "Oh, don't worry; we'll make sure of that!"

And then, as lightning and thunder flashed and sounded above, Oakley drew her combat knife from the sheath on her belt, she drew it up to eye level, where it could be seen glinting in the lamplight, and ran her thumb repeatedly across its edge, feeling its sharpness while she stared at the Grunt with cold, dark eyes.

The Grunt's eyes grew big in shock and panic, and his mouth gaped openly in horror. "No! Oh Arceus, please no!" He then struggled to get to his feet, but as soon as he had a solid footing, Annie came over and immediately kneed him in the chest once more, driving him to the cold, wet ground, where he lay in a pitiful heap, loud sobs and pleads for his life interspersed with his coughs and gasps for air. "Please, no, I beg of you, please don't kill me! I don't want to die!" He then drew in enough air to shout, in a voice hysterical with fear, "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" which ended with a long and strangled sob, knowing his pleas were of no use. His face was one of unmasked sadness and despair, his hair, which by now had been soaked, lay plastered flat across his head, his bangs hanging limply across his forehead, his eyes closed tightly in his sobs of despair, tears running down his face, although they were impossible to discern in all the rainwater that covered his face. Snot ran openly from his nose, and his mouth was set in what could most accurately be termed an open-mouth grimace or frown. His lips were curved downward, his mouth was partly open, and his bottom lip quivered between sobs. It was a face of total and utter despair, without any hope whatsoever; the face of one whose life was about to be ended.

Annie and Oakley's faces remained the same, cold and hard, without any pity whatsoever. Annie's mouth curled upward in a sneer. "Oh, come on, now. It's bad enough that we have to kill you now; the very least you could do is take it like a man and not like a blubbering little baby!" she said contemptuously.

The Grunt continued to sob brokenly on the wet grass, the rain mercilessly pounding on his back and face as lightning flashed and thunder crashed. "Please…have mercy…" he said quietly, knowing it was of no use.

Annie shook her head slowly, her eyes closed. "Sorry, no can do, little man." she said before opening her eyes and continuing "We can't have you risk endangering the mission any further with your boneheaded clumsiness."

"It was…a mistake…" the Grunt said, to no avail.

"Nevertheless, it was a mistake that we can't afford happening again, not with the stakes as high as they are." Annie said.

Then, Oakley walked over to where the Grunt was lying and crouched down in front of his face so the Grunt could see her clearly. She held her knife up to her face and peered at it, turning it around in her hand, looking at the blade from different angles, watching how the rain impacted upon the stainless steel, coating its edges with rainwater, making its metallic gleam all the more apparent.

She then started to speak, although all the time she was, she keep her eyes trained on the blade in front of her face, as if entranced by it. "You know something, I've always found that when you kill a person with a knife, that in their final moments, as you watch the life drain out of them, they reveal who they truly are inside. All sorts of emotions seem to bubble up in those moments, with different people showing different emotions. Some show anger, some show surprise, some even show acceptance, but most of the time, they show fear. I guess I can't blame those people; we all fear death in a way, but its only when you're truly about to die that that fear reaches its height; occupying every part of your psyche, until that fear manifests outwardly, allowing it to be laid bare for anyone watching to see in all of its detail. For some reason, this proves to be an endless source of fascination for me. I always find it interesting to watch a person's true emotions and personality emerge in those final moments, as they lie dying upon the ground. For that reason, I always seem to prefer the knife when it comes to ending a person's life. Guns are too quick; you can't savor all the little emotions that a knife can bring about." She then finally turned her eyes to face the Grunt, her eyes locking directly onto his, fixing him with their cold, hard blackness. And then she said, in a voice so cold and sadistic it could give one goosebumps, "I wonder… what kind of a man _you _really are."

As the Grunt stared up at her, knowing his life was about to end, he suddenly felt a sudden surge of anger wash over him, brought on by the helplessness he was feeling and the urge to strike back in a way that would reduce that helplessness. His eyes narrowed, and then he forcefully spat into Oakley's face, causing her to flinch and turn her head away slightly. "I hope you and your sister rot in hell!" the Grunt shouted in a voice of pure anger and hatred. "I hope the Eon twins defeat you and tear you limb from limb afterwards! Fuck you, fuck your sister, _and fuck Team Rocket_!"

Oakley didn't say anything in response, but as she turned to face him, her face was all the indicator one needed. Her eyes were blazing with unspeakable rage and fury, and her teeth were bared in a silent snarl. However, the Grunt did not flinch or recoil in fright, but matched Oakley's furious stare with his own, each of their eyes burning into the other.

Then Oakley stood up and began pulling the Grunt to his feet who tried weakly to struggle out of her grip as she did so. Once she had him fully on his feet, she plunged the knife sideways with the sharp edge facing to her left into the Grunt's stomach region on his left side, slightly above his navel. The Grunt immediately pulled forward with a sharp gasp of pain as blood began pouring out of the wound, staining his black shirt a crimson red where the knife was plunged. But this was only the beginning. With a savage look on her face, Oakley began forcefully slicing her knife along the Grunt's stomach region, each forceful slice accompanied by a similarly forceful expression accentuating her savage facial features, as if willing her mind to make the cuts stronger. As she reached the midway point, Annie couldn't take it anymore; she turned away to save from having to watch the savage disembowelment. Oakley continued her gruesome act, with the Grunt nearly dead by now, with blood pouring freely from the large slicing wound along his belly, his intestines could be seen spilling out of the wound tract: a round pink mass of flesh covered in blood. Finally, she reached the other side of his stomach region. Having thoroughly disemboweled him, she withdrew her bloody and gore-soaked knife from the man's stomach and took a few steps back, allowing him to fall to the ground, dead, his guts hanging out of the large wound created by the knife. Copious amount of blood began to stain the green grass around the body.

Oakley then took a step towards the body and spat on it, shouting, "No one ever talks that way about me and my sister or our organization, do you hear me! NOBODY!"

Annie then approached behind her sister and placed a placating hand on her shoulder. "Okay, Oakley, okay, calm down, alright? You've made your point. Besides, I don't think he can hear you anyways." she said calmly.

Her sister's words managed to calm Oakley down somewhat. She then took a deep breath and closed her eyes before slowly exhaling. She then turned around to face her sister, saying, "Sorry, Annie, you're right. I guess I just got carried away; you know how low a tolerance I have for people who insult us." in an apologetic tone. Although, in truth, she wasn't the least bit sorry for the gruesome act she had just committed. She was merely saying this to placate her sister.

Annie glanced down at the body before saying "Yeah, I know." in a solemn voice, inwardly shivering in fright from the scene, she had never been one for gruesome violence like this.

Oakley then turned back around to stare at the body for a moment, and then with a small sigh, regained her composure and said, "Well, come on, I guess we've gotta take care of this one ourselves." as if this was a normal occurrence, walking over to a patch of grass and wiping her bloody knife on it, cleaning it for the second time that night before replacing it in its sheath at her side.

Annie nodded, although she did it with some reluctance. "Alright, let's just get this over with quickly, though." she said.

They then took a separate side of the body, Annie the legs, Oakley the shoulders, and heaved him up, although as they did so, the intestines, which were already hanging precariously out of the body's gaping stomach wound, finally fell completely out of the man's body, hitting the grass below with a sickening splat, where they lay in a disgusting coiled mass. Annie grimaced disgustedly.

The intestines they left where they were, neither of them wanting to pick them up to dispose of them, knowing full well they would be set upon by wild bird Pokémon in the morning or something like that.

Once they were beside the railway along the canal, they disposed of the body in the same way as the cop, dumping the body over the side and watching it be carried away on the waves.

Annie then looked down at Oakley's blood-soaked gloves. She pointed them out and said, "You should probably get rid of those too while we're here, Oakley. They certainly are unbecoming to you, what with all that blood on them."

Oakley held them up to her face and said "Good idea, sister." She then peeled them off, first the right one, then the left one, and then tossed them both into the canal, where they immediately vanished among the crashing waves.

Oakley then remembered something. "Oh, wait, that reminds me…" she said before turning away and walking back inside the archway. She then picked up the dead officer's flashlight, which was still on, turning it off with a click of the button on its handle, the officer's hat, which was lying upside-down, with rainwater already having made a small pool inside it, dumping the water out of it as she did so, and the officer's gun, still lying from where it had fallen from his hand.

She then walked back with all three items in her hands, raising them up for her sister to see and saying "Don't want anyone to find these, now do we?"

She then tossed the flashlight and hat into the water below, leaving only the officer's gun. She held the gun up to her face, inspecting it before saying "Nice gun, though. It's too bad the rain'll probably have jammed it up by now, or I would've considered keeping it." She then tossed it into the canal, where it quickly disappeared.

"Well, that takes care of that." Oakley said with finality.

"What do we tell the others?" Annie asked, wondering what to say; after all, they'd be returning with one man less.

"We'll just tell them we sent him back to the boat to wait for us and to get it ready for when we come back." Oakley answered off-handedly.

"And when we do come back and they realize he's not there?" Annie pressed on, trying to cover all possible loopholes.

"Simple: We'll just say he got lost along the way. It is a big city, after all." Oakley said bluntly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Do you think they'll buy it?" Annie asked uncertainly.

"Of course they will, they're grunts, they're too stupid to think past our explanation, they're _supposed _to buy it. You worry too much, Annie. Now, come on, let's get going, we've wasted enough time here as it is. We need to get this over and done with before sunrise."

Annie shrugged. "Right, Oakley."

They then both hurried down and around the corner, where the other Grunts were all waiting for them. When they were asked about the missing Grunt, Oakley gave them the story she and Annie had both agreed upon, and the Grunts bought it hook, line, and sinker. They then continued on their way towards the secret garden as the rain continued its merciless assault on the city of Alto Mare.

…

Finally, about twenty minutes later, they were all standing in the area around the entrance to the secret garden, with the two buildings on either side of them and what appeared to be a solid brick wall right in front of them.

Oakley took a moment to address everyone. "Okay, here we are. This is the entrance to the secret garden to which the Legendary Eon Twins, Latios and Latias, call home. While it may look like a dead end, that brick wall you see before you is no brick wall, but rather an illusion placed there by the first Guardian of Alto Mare to mask the entrance to the secret garden. You'll be able to pass through it easily, so don't worry."

The Grunts still looked a bit uncertain about this, but decided not to voice their opinions.

Oakley then continued. "Once we're inside, we must do everything we can to take Latios and Latias by surprise, as that'll make it easier to weaken and subsequently capture them. The task of weakening them falls to all of you. Use the Pokémon you've been provided with and engage the twins in battle, weakening them as much as you can, although make sure to remain on your toes. Latios and Latias are extremely intelligent and powerful foes and will seek to use their powers in clever ways to confuse you and your Pokémon as well as using them to battle you directly, so be careful. Once all of you have sufficiently weakened them, we'll step in and take over from there. Now, are there any last questions?"

No noise came from the Grunts.

Oakley nodded and said, "Alright, let's go. Stay behind us and follow our lead."

She then turned around and headed toward the brick wall illusion, her sister at her side, and the Grunts all following tightly behind them. As they reached the illusion, they passed through it and vanished without a trace, leaving an empty alleyway behind.

…

In the gazebo that sheltered the two forms lying inside it from the rain, Latios opened his eyes all of a sudden. He had no idea why he had just come awake; he had been enjoying a peaceful slumber, despite the thunder and lightning rumbling overhead. But as soon as his awareness returned to him, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong, very wrong. He lifted his head up from where it was resting on the gazebo deck, his sister still asleep next to him, and stared out into the murky rainy night, suspicious and alert. Just then, a flash of lightning lit up the sky, casting a stark white light through the canopy above, casting the trees and the grounds surrounding it in a mixture of light and eerie shadows, before fading out of existence, casting the garden into murky darkness once again as a clap of thunder boomed through the sky in the lightning's wake.

As he continued to stare out into the night, Latios still could not shake the fact that something was wrong. He sensed something was out there, a dangerous presence that was gradually coming nearer, something that was already inside the garden. He narrowed his eyes dangerously as his territorial instincts kicked in, evenly tempered with a desire to protect his sister. Whatever was out there had come to the wrong place.

He slowly brought his head down closer to his sister's and began gently shaking her while saying, "Latias. Latias, wake up sis." in a quiet, hushed tone.

After a few gentle shakes, Latias opened her eyes sleepily before bringing them to focus, still half-lidded with sleep, on her brother. "Brother…wha…what's going on? Why'd you wake me up?" she asked in a somewhat irritated voice.

"Sorry to wake you like this, sis, but it's important." he said with a serious look on his face. "Something's wrong."

Immediately Latias was alert, bringing her head up fully, her eyes wide and open. "What is it? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, not doubting her brother's words, knowing for a fact that Latios was serious when it came to matters like these.

Latios turned his head to look outside the gazebo, into the cold, dark, rainy night. "There's something out there." he said, indicating the grounds of the garden. "Something bad."

Latias in turn faced to look in the direction Latios was looking, her eyes worried and slightly fearful. "Where? Inside the garden?" she asked him, turning her face back to look at him. Latios nodded, his eyes hard and steely.

Latias shivered slightly in fear. "What do you think it is?" she asked fearfully.

Latios continued to stare out into the indiscernible darkness for a while before replying with an uncertain "I don't know." His eyes then narrowed and he said, "But I intend to find out." in a low, dangerous voice as thunder and lightning cracked through the sky. He then turned to look at his sister and said "Stay here. I'm going to go check it out." before floating up and heading out into the rain, leaving his sister behind on the gazebo.

Latias' mind was conflicted; she didn't want to stay here while her brother went out to face an unknown danger by himself, what if he got hurt? But he had told her to stay put, shouldn't she… no, she didn't want to leave her brother to face this threat alone, not when she could help him out. Making up her mind, she activated her own levitation and quickly flew after him. Coming up behind him, she called to him, "No, wait, brother, I'm coming too!"

Turning his head around to face her, in a stern voice Latios said "No, Latias, it's too dangerous and I don't want you getting hurt. Stay here, where it's safe."

Latias' eyes narrowed at this. "No! I'm not going to stay behind, I want to help! You're my brother and I'm not about to let you go off and face whatever this is alone and have you get hurt, knowing I can do something to help! I'm not helpless, you know! I know how to fight too!" she said angrily. "I am also a guardian of Alto Mare, in case you've forgotten!"

Latios gave a small sigh and reached over to put a claw on his sister's shoulder. "But Latias…" he began.

But Latias wasn't about to hear it. "But nothing! I'm coming along, and I'm _going_ to help, whether you like it or not!" she said with finality.

Latios stared at his sister for a long moment, and he realized by the fiery and determined look in her eyes, that she was not going to be swayed in this matter. While he was worried for her safety, it warmed his heart to see his sister care for him so much to be willing to go and face an unknown danger with him. A small smile crept over his lips and he said simply "Okay." in a quiet and grateful voice. "Thanks, sis." he added after a moment.

Latias gave him a tender, loving smile in acknowledgement. "Thanks. And you're welcome." she said.

Giving his sister one last grateful look, Latios then turned to face forward. "Okay, then. Follow me and stay close." he instructed to her. Latias nodded and they both continued through the garden, searching for the unknown threat as the sky lit up above, casting its eerie light across the garden's length once again.

They continued along, with Latios tracking the dangerous presence and where it seemed to be coming from, until finally, he and his sister came to the main walkway that stretched the entire length of the garden, heading in the direction of the shrine that contained the Soul Dew, facing towards the shrine itself and the main entrance to the garden.

Latios' danger-sense suddenly flared dramatically. Whatever this threat was, they were almost right on top of them by now. He shifted his eyes this way and that, searching for the danger, whatever it was, his sister close by his side, who was also mimicking Latios' actions, her eyes scanning for the danger. As they came close to the shrine, Latios suddenly stopped, his sister stopping too. "What is it?" she asked.

Latios stared in the direction of the shrine. In the murky darkness, he could see two dark figures standing at opposite ends of the shrine, both of them leaning against the stone bannisters at the top of the stairs situated at either end of the shrine, but it was so dark, he couldn't quite make them out. As he cautiously floated forward, trying to make out the figures, suddenly, he was stopped as the figure on the right spoke up.

"Well, well, well. Long time, no see, Latios and Latias." it said in a cold, feminine voice.

"It certainly has been a long time, hasn't it, sis?" the other figure then spoke up, also in a feminine voice. Latios' blood ran cold, those voices sounded familiar…

And then, a bolt of lightning flashed through the sky, lighting up the garden and revealing the faces of the two figures. It was none other than Annie and Oakley.

Latios' body immediately shifted into a combative stance, his body posture threatening, his claws held outward menacingly, and his teeth bared, his eyes narrow and flashing with hatred, while Latias took up a defensive position beside him. _"You." _he said in a voice of utmost hatred and loathing.

Oakley laughed, a cold, cruel laugh. "Nice to see you haven't forgotten about us." she said condescendingly as she walked over to the point where she was standing right behind the altar.

Annie changed her face to one of mock pity. "Aw, did the wittle baby dragons miss us?" she said in a disgusting baby-talk voice as she did the same.

This remark caused the twins' blood to boil. Latias' eyes flashed with anger as she ground her teeth together and clenched her claws tightly. Latios looked like he could barely restrain himself from rushing forward and tearing out both of their throats with his teeth. _"You two made a _big _mistake coming here again. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't eviscerate you where you stand." _he growled menacingly.

Annie raised a hand and began wagging a finger at him as if to scold him. "Tsk tsk tsk, Latios, it's terribly inappropriate to threaten someone's life like that, and to use a word as coarse and graphic as 'eviscerate' to describe it, now that's just uncalled for." she mockingly scolded him.

Oakley gave a nasty grin and said, "Especially seeing as _we _are the ones holding the cards here." At this, she held out her hand, which was clasped around the glowing blue Soul Dew.

Both of the Eon twins' eyes widened in shock. _"Th-the Soul Dew!" _Latios exclaimed.

Oakley continued to smirk, enjoying the power she held over the two. "Yes. So I think it'd be best if you watched your mouth, and not try to 'eviscerate' us any time soon, or else I'll smash this thing on the ground, and then it's bye-bye Alto Mare!"

Latios growled helplessly, it was true, if she smashed the Soul Dew, it was all over for the city. He couldn't risk attacking her while she was holding it. _"You fucking bitch!"_ he yelled at her angrily. Latias couldn't help but turn at him slightly, not used to seeing him cursing, but, considering the situation, it was understandable.

Oakley just smiled and laughed. "Go ahead, yell at me all you want! It's not going to change anything!"

At this, Latias suddenly came forward. _"Why? Why are you doing this? Why did you even come back? Why couldn't you just leave me and my brother in peace?" _she yelled angrily.

Oakley raised her head interestedly. "So, the both of you can use telepathy now, huh? That requires a lot of skill and training to be able to do that. Impressive."

"_I think you'll find us a lot less helpless than we were the last time we met, Oakley." _Latios stated.

"_Yeah, and we can do a whole lot more than _just _telepathy." _Latias added cryptically.

Oakley chuckled to herself. "Interesting. In just over a year, you've been able to master telepathy, and I assume it's safe to say that your combative skills have significantly increased as well. I wouldn't have guessed it back then, but our Boss was right when he sent us to capture you a year ago, your adaptability, intelligence, and raw, innate power would truly make you powerful additions to our team."

Latios' response was immediate. _"We will _never _join your team!" _he shouted vehemently.

"_We would rather die first than join up with you crooks!" _Latias shouted alongside him.

"Are you willing to test that belief? Willing to risk the life of your precious city and everyone in it?" Oakley said darkly as held up the Soul Dew.

Latios heart turned to ice. They were stuck in an unwinnable argument here, what was he supposed to do? He did not want to give up to these crooks, he was not about to give them the satisfaction of winning. But they had the Soul Dew, what else could he do? He needed to think of something!

"_Latias, try and stall her. I'm going to try to think up a way to get us out of this situation." _he telepathed exclusively to Latias so Annie and Oakley were unable to hear him.

"_Okay, I'll do my best. Just think quickly, okay?" _she replied back to him.

Looking back at Oakley, Latias repeated the question she had asked earlier. _"Why are you doing this? What could you possibly hope to gain by doing this?"_

"Why? Oh you know, the usual, for a little bit of blood, a touch of chaos and mayhem," Oakley listed off nonchalantly. She paused a bit as her eyes narrowed before finishing, "And for a little something called revenge." she said darkly.

Latias seemed slightly taken aback, she tilted her head slightly to the left and said, _"Revenge?" _

A vein of irritation appeared on Oakley's forehead as she yelled "Yes, revenge, you dumbass pathetic excuse of a dragon! Revenge on you and your brother here for what you did to me and my sister!"

Latias couldn't believe it. _"What _we _did to you! You attacked us and nearly destroyed our city, you little bitch!" _she yelled indignantly, her anger pushing her to insults as well.

"Maybe so, but you didn't have to spend a year in a dank, urine-soaked hell-hole of a prison, where the guards treat you like shit, having to eat the same crappy food day in and day out, always having to watch your back against everyone else! You have no idea what it's like!" Oakley yelled.

Meanwhile, Latios was trying to think of ideas to get the Soul Dew away from Oakley. But no matter what he came up with, none of them would work. He couldn't simply rush forward and hope to reach Oakley before she destroyed it, besides, odds are she would drop it her reflexes kicked in. He could freeze her with Psychic, but that still left Annie to deal with, and it was hard to maintain a psychic hold when some other person's attacking you, so that was out. He couldn't turn invisible and approach her that way, as soon as they saw him disappear, Oakley would no doubt destroy the Soul Dew before he could get close. But what else was there? All of it seemed hopeless. But then, all of a sudden, a thought surfaced in his mind, something he had not even considered before. This thought gradually formed an idea in his mind that he could use against Oakley. As he thought about it, it began to seem more and more like his only possible chance to get out of this situation. It seemed so simple, but at the same time, there was a chance that it, too, would not work. He needed to make sure of something before he could put his plan into action. So, very subtly, he reached out with his mind towards Oakley's, who was too busy arguing with Latias to notice his subtle intrusion into her mind. Very carefully, he started to sift through her thoughts, looking for the information he needed for his plan to work.

Latias scoffed at Oakley's tirade. _"You expect me to feel sorry for you after what you and your sister put me and my brother through? Attacking us repeatedly, capturing my brother, torturing him in the DMA, nearly drowning me and Ash, and to top it off, almost destroying our city and everything we hold dear? I would say you deserved every bit of what you went through." _she said contemptuously.

Oakley's eyes burned with hatred. "Why you! You are without a doubt the stupidest, most annoying Pokémon I've ever met!

To this, Latias just smiled. _"Why, thank you. I'm flattered that you think of me that way."_ she said in a mock-cheerful voice. _"And you've got to be the most evil, heartless, megalomaniacal bitch of a human being that _I've _ever met!" _she insulted back.

Oakley growled in anger as her eyes flashed daggers at the female Eon dragon. "You… I am so eagerly looking forward to breaking you and your brother, to make you scream in pain and agony as we break your minds and bend you to our cause! And then I'm going to track down that idiot Trainer, Ash Ketchum, and do the same to him!" she yelled back.

A stab of fear pierced Latias' heart at this last comment, only to be replaced moments later by a fiery rage. _"How dare you!" _she yelled at Oakley, her face contorted with fury. _"How dare you threaten his life in front of me! How dare you even _mention _his name with your filthy mouth! I will tear you limb from limb myself if you so much as dare to lay a hand on him!" _

Oakley curled her lip in amusement. "Oh dear, I seem to have struck a nerve there, haven't I? And what is it exactly that causes you, of all Pokémon, to feel so strongly about Ash, a mere human Trainer?"

"_That's none of your damn business!" _Latias spat at Oakley.

Oakley feigned a hurt look. "Oh, really? That's too bad." Her lips then curled upwards in an evil-looking smile as her face radiated an aura of cruel, eager menace. "Still, since it's obvious that you feel strongly about him in some way or other, that's going to make the torture of him all the sweeter."

Latias couldn't take it anymore. She was about to gather her energies for an immense Psychic attack that would tear Oakley to pieces, when suddenly, something happened that beat her to the punch.

Annie suddenly found herself surrounded by a shimmering blue aura, unable to move a muscle. She was then brought up into the air until she was floating a good five feet off the ground. As Latias' jaw dropped at the sight, Oakley turned her head to look at what she was looking at, and also proceeded to drop her jaw in shock. Then suddenly, without warning, Annie was flung sideways, where she collided forcefully with a waiting tree, causing her to cry out in pain as her side impacted against the rigid bark. She then fell to the wet grass below, landing on her side. She lay there, groaning in pain as she moved about weakly on the grass. Unfortunately, it appeared that she had not been seriously hurt by the impact, just some scratches, cuts, and bruised areas on the side that had impacted the tree.

Oakley quickly cried out "Annie!" before turning her attention back to the Eon twins before her. Latias also looked at her brother, whose eyes were just returning to their normal color after having used Psychic on Annie, a satisfied smile on his features. _"That felt good." _he remarked.

Both Latias and Oakley stared incredulously at him. "Wha… you…" Oakley stammered before she seemed to get ahold of herself and erupted into a mad rage. "You stupid son of a bitch! Do you realize what you just did? You've just ruined your only chances of saving your city! I'm going to smash this thing into a thousand pieces!" she screamed, holding the Soul Dew up above her head threateningly.

But Latios just smirked confidently and said simply _"No, you're not." _in a smug, confident tone.

Oakley paused in her mad rant and looked at him confusedly. "What?" she asked.

Latios began to float slowly towards Oakley. _"You're not going to smash the Soul Dew, Oakley. Because now I know the truth. This whole act of you threatening to smash the Soul Dew, is nothing more than just that: an act. A façade. A bluff." _he said coolly.

Just for a moment, a flash of fear appeared in Oakley's eyes before quickly returning to their hard demeanor, but Latios had seen it and smiled inwardly. "What? What are you talking about? This is no bluff!" she said scornfully, although her voice appeared to have shaken the tiniest bit.

"_Yes, it is, Oakley, and you know it. I've seen your thoughts myself, so don't try to deny what I already know." _said Latios.

"My… my thoughts?" Oakley asked incredulously. "You read my thoughts?"

"_Yes, while you were distracted talking to my sister. You have no intention of smashing the Soul Dew, because you're afraid of dying yourself. You don't want all of your efforts up until now to go to waste, you want to live to see them through, to enjoy your revenge on us and lord it over us as much as possible, something you can't do when you're dead. And there's also the fact that you promised to bring the Soul Dew back intact, so smashing it right now would kinda defeat that purpose, now, wouldn't it?" _he said as he continued his approach towards Oakley._ "Now, why don't you just put the Soul Dew back, and I promise to let you and your sister leave here alive." _He then paused for a moment and then added darkly, _"More or less."_

Oakley's eyes went wide with fear as she saw her only safeguard fall apart with Latios' truthful words. She started nervously backing away towards the shrine behind her as Latios came closer, his eyes cold and intimidating. "St-stay back! Don't… don't come any closer! I mean it!" she shouted fearfully. But Latios did not respond, he just continued to float towards her, his eyes never once leaving hers, the rain falling down on his form making him look all the more sinister.

In desperation, Oakley drew her pistol from its holster and pointed it directly at Latios, holding it outstretched in her right hand while her left hand still clutched the Soul Dew. "Alright, stay back! Don't you move another fucking inch, or I'll shoot!" she yelled.

Latias quickly jumped forward and yelled "Latios!" fearfully. Latios finally halted in his movement forward, him and Oakley about five feet apart, with him staring down the barrel of Oakley's pistol, and yet, he didn't look the slightest bit scared or fearful. Instead, he actually _smirked. _

"_Give it up, Oakley. You can't win this time." _he said confidently.

Oakley gave a sharp laugh. "Ha! You think just because you found out my little ploy that I'll just give up? We're just getting started here, Latios!" At this, she looked past Latios and gave a sharp whistle.

Almost immediately, the five Grunts, who up until that point had remained hidden behind the trees on either side of the shrine, ran over to appear in single file line behind Latios and Latias. They each grabbed a Poké Ball off their belts and tossed them, revealing a lineup of five Pokémon consisting of an Ariados, a Croagunk, a Pidgeot, a Golbat, and a Raticate. They all shouted their respective battle cries and looked at the two Eon dragons menacingly, already hyped up and ready for battle. Latias looked at the line of Pokémon behind them worriedly, while Latios glared at them, knowing in his mind that he should've expected something like this from Oakley, he should've known she'd bring backup; how had he not sensed them?

"_Because you were too busy reeling in anger at seeing them again, and later looking into Oakley's thoughts." _Latias answered him telepathically.

Latios frowned. _"What about you?"_

Latias paused mentally for a second. _"Same thing I guess, just that I was busy arguing." _

Oakley continued to keep her gun trained on Latios as she circled around him, past Latias, and over to her comrades, getting behind the line of Pokémon. "Now things get interesting, don't they? If you want your precious Soul Dew back, you'll have to beat each of my comrades' Pokémon here, not that I think you will. You can't hope to prevail against us now!" she said smugly.

Latios glared hatefully at Oakley from beside his sister. _"You are making a big mistake, Oakley. Clearly you underestimate the power me and my sister possess." _he remarked coolly.

Latias stared angrily at her. _"You think you can hide behind your little friends and hope they'll be able to take us down? We'll defeat them all in a heartbeat!" _she said.

Oakley grinned smugly. "While your confidence amuses me, I still fail to see how two Pokémon, legendary or not, can take down all the Pokémon we possess! You'll soon realize that the sheer might that is Team Rocket cannot hope to be matched by anyone, human or Pokémon!" She turned to face the Grunts at her side and pointed towards the two dragons, shouting "Engage the enemy! Bring them both down!"

The Grunts nodded and turned to face their Pokémon, preparing to engage the two dragons.

Latios turned to look at his sister, who also looked back at him. "Are you ready for this, sis?" Latios asked her, his eyes serious, his body tensed and prepared for battle.

"Yeah, bro. I'm with you all the way; let's show these humans and their Pokémon what we're made of!" Latias replied, her eyes just as serious and intense as her brothers, her actions told Latios that she was ready to battle.

He smiled at her and said, "Indeed. We'll teach them not to underestimate us!" He then held out his right claw for his sister to take, which she did, their claws interlocked tenderly as they each gave each other one last loving look, and then they both turned to face their opponents, ready to engage in the battle of their lives…

* * *

><p><strong>I know a lot of you were looking forward to reading the big battle between the Latis and Team Rocket, so I'm sorry if I disappointed you with that. Don't worry, though, the majority of the second part of this chapter is already done. I just have to write the battle itself and one other scene. I should have it out in less time than it took for this one, probably around mid to late October. Again, I'd like to apologize for the long wait for this chapter, I hope you can understand that writing can be very tiring and frustrating at times, especially if you're writing a super-long chapter like this one was initially planned to be. <strong>

**As always, please R&R! :D**


	4. A Night of Blood and Tears pt 2

**A/N: Well, hello, everybody! csigamer1990 here with my next update! Hope you enjoy it, it's full of lots of butt-kicking action! :D**

**And I just want to add that I've once again decided to break up A Night of Blood and Tears. This chapter deals with a good three quarters of the battle between the Latis and Team Rocket. The conclusion will include the rest of the battle as well as the terrible aftermath, the majority of which I already have written. I just need to write the rest of the battle and finish up the ending for the conclusion, so hopefully you won't have to wait too long for it, although when it comes to me and my many interests, I have little to no idea as to the timeframe to give you, but trust me when I say that the conclusionary chapter will be my longest chapter I'll have written up to this point, so take comfort in that fact, at least! :P**

**And lastly, to quote one of my favorite Simpsons characters, Krusty the Clown, I'd like to wish everyone reading a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwazy Kwanza, a tip top Tết, and a solemn and dignified Ramadan. :P Enjoy the holidays, everyone! :D**

**Now, on to the action!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters.**

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

_"Telepathy"_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

**A Night of Blood and Tears pt. 2**

"_In a battle all you need to make you fight is a little hot blood and the knowledge  
>that it's more dangerous to lose than to win." <em>–George Bernard Shaw

Latios and Latias turned to face the lineup of Pokémon before them, the rain falling down across their forms and their faces, their eyes narrowed and their expressions hard and intense, their claws still interlocked. Every inch of their streamlined bodies were tensed and ready for battle as they faced off against their opponents.

Across from them, the Grunts' Pokémon, which consisted of, from left to right, of an Ariados, a large spider-like Pokémon colored red with black stripes along its abdomen, four spindly legs with purple and yellow bands along them, two thin wing-like appendages colored and shaped the same way as the legs, a pair of powerful looking mandibles along its jaw, and to top it off, a massive horn jutting from its forehead which no doubt was very poisonous; a Croagunk, a small amphibian like Pokémon which oddly resembled a toad, its body colored a deep blue, with banded marking along its middle, one small black stripe which also ran across his upper arms, and two large white stripes, its hands and feet were mostly black, although the middle digits on each of its hands were a striking orange color. There were two orange sac-like pouches on either cheek, and its eyes were yellow with black bands around them; a Pidgeot, a majestic eagle-like Pokémon with an impressively wide wingspan, with a cream colored underside and brown feathers on top, while its tail feathers were red in color. A long, majestic red and yellow crest ran across its head, trailing back almost the entire length of its body. Its eyes were narrow and sharp, able to spot prey from over a mile away, with black markings running across the eyes and down towards the end of the neck. Most importantly, though, were its sharp, hooked beak, and its powerful, wickedly sharp talons; a Golbat, a rather large blue bat-like Pokémon with long, membranous wings which seemed to be constantly beating in the air in order to keep it airborne, a large, wide-open mouth with four pointed fangs inside; and a Raticate, a large rodent type Pokémon with brown and cream colored fur, a long rodent-like tail, and two large, oversized fangs inside its mouth, also were prepared and eager for battle, glaring menacingly at the Legendary Eon dragons before them, the rain falling on their forms causing them to look all the more threatening and sinister.

It was much the same with the team of Grunts standing behind their respective Pokémon, each of them tense and prepared to give orders to their Pokémon, rain dripping off the edges of their brimmed caps, their faces tense and slightly nervous; after all, these were two legendary Pokémon they were taking on here, it was impossible to not feel more than a little nervous when facing two legends of the Pokémon world.

Oakley stood at the Grunts' sides, a cruel, eager smile across her lips, strands of hair hanging across her face as drops of rain collected at the ends of them and fell off, her soaked, disheveled appearance making her appear even more demented and half-crazy. Her gun was back in its holster by now.

Annie was still lying at the foot of the tree, although she was making an effort to get back to her feet. Her back and side was still in quite a bit of pain, however, so getting up was proving difficult.

For a few moments, time seemed to stop as the combatants gazed at each other, neither side moving, as the rain fell down from the heavens, making the very air surrounding the combatants seem to palpitate with tension and untold epicness.

Then a bolt of lightning lanced through the sky, illuminating the battlefield and the combatants, and as an immense boom of thunder shook the sky above, Oakley raised her hand and roared out one word: "ATTACK!"

But even before the Grunts could even start acting on Oakley's word, Latios and Latias' wings began to glow as they hardened to the properties of steel, and in the blink of an eye, they both rushed forward at near supersonic speeds, a loud sonic boom echoing behind them from the sheer speed of their sudden move, buffeting the air surrounding their path as their dual Steel Wings smashed into Pidgeot on Latios' left side and Golbat on Latias' right, doing major damage and knocking both flying Pokémon out of the sky, both of them hitting the ground hard with cries of pain, small splashes heralding their arrival as the Eon dragons soared past, disappearing into the murky night.

The Grunts and their Pokémon had turned away as the buffeting wake hit them, the Grunts raising up their hands to shield their eyes from any debris which might come their way, the wind causing their soggy clothes to billow slightly and for a couple of the Grunts, namely the ones who commanded Pidgeot and Golbat, respectively, to have their caps blown off their heads. When the wake subsided, the Grunts turned to see what had happened, only to gape in shock as they laid their eyes upon the stricken Pidgeot and Golbat as they moaned in pain and struggled to get to their feet. The two Grunts who commanded them called out their names in alarm and came over to their sides to help them get back to their feet (but nothing more than that).

Meanwhile, the other Grunts and their Pokémon as well as Oakley were all looking this way and that, wondering where the twin dragons had gone to. The Croagunk's commander shouted out, "What the? Where the hell did they go?" in a slightly fearful tone.

The Ariados' commander answered back, "Beats me! I can't see a damn thing in this rain!"

Oakley's eyes narrowed knowingly and she called over to the Grunts, making her voice loud enough to be heard by all of them, "They must've turned invisible! Keep your guard up!"

Hearing this, the Grunts began to look this way and that fearfully, their Pokémon doing the same, searching in vain for the hidden Eon dragons, their panic making them forget their commanders' instructions given to them before the battle. Oakley, however, was scanning the area surrounding them carefully, looking and waiting for any oddities or irregular shapes to appear in the curtain of rain around them.

Meanwhile, Latios was floating high above the group of humans below, hidden in his cloak of invisibility between two trees located to the left side of the shrine, while Latias floated across from him, also cloaked in invisibility, floating between the trees on the right side of the shrine. Now that they were both in position, Latios called across to his sister using telepathy, saying, _"You ready, sis?" _

Even though she knew he couldn't see her, Latias nodded and replied, _"Yep, I'm ready! Let's put a hurting on these goons!" _in an enthusiastic tone.

Latios smiled inwardly at his sister's enthusiasm, and instructed, _"Okay, I'll go first. After I make my pass, you go ahead and do yours. Make sure to remain hidden and make your attacks as hard, quick, and as brief as possible. Give them no chance to react to our speed." _

Latias nodded again and responded by saying _"Okay!" _in affirmation, and waited for her brother to make his pass, already picking out a target for herself and deciding on how best to attack it, steeling herself in the meantime and making sure to calm her nerves, as this was her first real battle and she couldn't help but feel just a tiny bit nervous at the prospect. Sure, she had trained for this moment along with her brother, but that was training, this right now was as real as it gets, she was battling for her life now against Pokémon who had no compulsion or intention to lower their blows' intensity, unlike the sparring matches she'd been having with her brother up until now; they wanted to really hurt her. She was a little bit frightened, yes, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement at the prospect of finally being able to put her skills to the test, to prove just how strong she was to both her brother and to Team Rocket, to show she wasn't completely helpless anymore!

Latios prepared himself as well, having already picked out a target, as the Golbat and Pidgeot got back on their feet and into the air. He would show these thugs not to mess with him or his sister! He would give them a beating the likes of which they had never felt before! And then he would teach Annie and Oakley to never again come back here; oh yes, he would give them such a lesson in pain that they would never show their faces in Alto Mare ever again! His right claw began glowing in a bright green hue of light as he powered up a Dragon Claw attack, and with one final check on his target's position, he flew forward in an arcing dive towards his target, his sharp, glowing claw held outwards in preparation to strike. As he passed to the left side of his target, the Golbat, his claw slashed across the bat's unprotected back, leaving three long bloody furrows along Golbat's backside and causing it to emit a loud shriek of pain as Latios soared past, his attack complete, and so fast as to remain unseen by all, getting back towards the hidden safety of the trees.

The Grunts were taken aback as Golbat shrieked aloud in pain, they hadn't seen any attacks land. "What the hell!" one of them exclaimed, looking around in alarm.

"_Your turn, Latias!" _Latios exclaimed telepathically as he stopped among the trees and swung around to face Team Rocket again.

"_Okay!" _Latias called back. She then took a quick breath and rushed forward, and as she reached the line of Pokémon, her eyes glowed lightly as she quickly focused her mental powers and brought them to focus just as she passed by her target, hitting the unaware Raticate with a powerful blast of Psychic energy that sent it flying back through the air, where it collided forcefully with its commander, impacting him in the stomach and driving the wind out of him, and sending him and his Pokémon flying backwards before impacting the pavement hard on his rear.

Latias stopped in the position her brother had just been in and swung around, just in time to hear the unfortunate Grunt cry out, "Owww, my ass!" in considerable pain and anguish. Latias couldn't help but giggle slightly at that.

"_Hehheh, good one, sis!" _Latios called over to her. _"But I think I can one-up that. Watch this!" _With that, his eyes started to glow and suddenly, both Ariados and Croagunk were surrounded by similar blue auras, and with a forceful mental push, Latios sent Ariados and Croagunk smashing into each other, their bodies colliding painfully causing super-effective damage for both, especially so for Croagunk, whose Poison/Fighting type was doubly weak against Psychic attacks. Both Ariados and Croagunk stayed smashed into each other for several seconds before slumping down slowly to the ground, both of them sporting pained looks on their faces. Latios and Latias both laughed inwardly at the successful and fairly comical attack.

Now the Grunts were in full-blown panic mode, their Pokémon were getting creamed and they had yet to land a single attack on their targets; they hadn't even been able to locate them in the first place as they flew by so swiftly that any chance for a counter-attack was basically nil. In desperation, the Pidgeot's commander called out to Oakley, "Commander Oakley, we're getting pulverized out here! What should we do?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe start by following the advice I gave you ninnies before coming in here and start actively searching for your targets? That's what I've been doing!" Oakley growled back sarcastically.

"That's proving to be difficult, ma'am! The targets are flying by so fast that we barely have a chance to counter!" Croagunk's commander shouted out.

"Then do your best to hold them off, dammit! And keep your eyes peeled, they're bound to slip up and reveal their location eventually!" Oakley called back.

However, it was at that moment that Golbat was struck by not one, but two hard edged Steel Wing attacks by both Latios and Latias, with one hitting right after the other. These two unprotected attacks, along with the initial Steel Wing attack from Latias and the Dragon Claw attack from Latios, proved to be too much for the battered Bat Pokémon as it gave out one final cry of pain before falling limply to the ground below with a splash, where it lay, its feeble actions indicating it would not be getting up again anytime soon. This sent a rush of fear throughout the group of men; not only had their group just suffered its first loss, but now all of their Pokémon had been hit, some of them hurt more so than others, _and they had not yet landed a single hit!_ It was only then that they realized just how in over their heads they all were; this wasn't a battle, this was turning out to be a rout!

The Golbat's commander raised up a Pokéball and shouted, "Golbat, return!" as a thin red beam shot out of the device's center and hit Golbat, sucking the defeated Bat Pokémon back into its ball. With a shaken look on his face, he then placed it back on his belt and grabbed his last remaining one off of it, enlarging it and then tossing it, shouting out, "Go, Marowak!"

The ball opened, releasing a fierce, intimidating Pokémon that almost looked like a small dinosaur, with brown skin and a scaled underbelly, a spiked tail, and most notably, its head was completely covered by a large skull which was generally believed to be the skull of its mother, worn since its days as a Cubone. In its right hand it gripped a large femur bone, which it proceeded to twirl expertly before entering into a combat stance, clearly displaying the Marowak's skill in using it in battle. "Alright, Marowak, your targets are invisible, so make sure to keep your eyes and ears open, but also make sure to keep your guard up!" the Grunt commanded. Marowak nodded and changed his stance to a more guarded position, although he still gripped his bone club tightly at his side, ready to bring it into play at a moment's notice. He blinked to get the rain out of his eyes as the rain fell on his skull helmet, turning it from its normal bleached white color to a wet, dull gray.

Meanwhile, Oakley was still searching for any sign of the Eon twins, something, anything that would reveal their location to her. Her eyes roved to her right side, scanning the treetops, but no, she couldn't see… _wait! _Her eyes quickly scanned back to a point where she could've sworn she'd seen something appear in the murky darkness and ever-present haze of the rain, in between two trees situated on her right side. Where was it, she knew she had seen… '_There! There it is again!' _she exclaimed in her mind. Her eyes could just make out a faint outline of something in the rain, or rather, it looked like there was nothing there, but the falling rain seemed to make a strange void in this spot, as if it was falling down on something, something invisible. As she watched, she could see something building up in the spot where the void was, it looked like a big energy projectile of some sort was being built up in preparation to fire on them, she quickly realized with a flash of fear. Almost immediately, she quickly turned to look at the nearest Grunt, the one commanding Ariados, and yelled, "You, quick! Order your Pokémon to attack on that spot!" pointing at the spot where the anomaly was hovering, "Do it, now!" she yelled frantically.

The Grunt nodded and yelled, "Ariados, quick! Pin Missile at three o'clock!" pointing at the spot his commander had indicated. The Ariados hurried to obey its master's direction, quickly turning to the right and letting loose a volley of sharp Pin Missiles from its mandibles at the spot his master had indicated.

The sharp needle-like energy beams moved fast through the air, reaching Latios faster than he could charge up his attack, impacted him just as he was just preparing to fire the Luster Purge attack he had been building up, causing him to cry in pain and lose his concentration, causing his Luster Purge to go flying off target, the large purple and white beam flying off to the left, where it impacted a large oak tree dead center (far from Latias' position, thankfully), creating a bright white light that flashed across the battlefield, causing Latias, the Grunts and their Pokémon, and Oakley, to turn their heads away and shield their eyes with an arm against the harsh light. After a moment, it faded, revealing a large chunk of the sturdy oak's body had been blown completely away, not enough to threaten its stability, but more than enough to be impressive.

Being hit had caused Latios to drop his invisibility. He clutched the spot where the needles had impacted his chest, grimacing in pain from the barrage of super effective Bug-type needles. '_Arceus, that stings! First attack I'm hit with and it just has to be Pin Missile! And now I've lost my invisibility, damn!' _he thought to himself.

Oakley grinned triumphantly. "There he is! Hurry, press the attack! Don't give him a chance to turn invisible again!" she shouted.

Latias, seeing her brother in pain, began to fly forward towards him. "Latios!" she called out loud in worry.

Unfortunately, this cry was not missed by the keen ears of Marowak below, whose eyes immediately turned to where the noise had come from, and seeing the hidden form of Latias in the rain, he immediately brought his bone behind him, and carefully judged his targets' movements, as well as taking into account the other environmental factors, such as wind speed velocity and the rain, much like a military sniper, before bringing his arm forward and whipping his bone into the air, where it flew, boomerang style, towards the unaware Latias.

The Bonemerang impacted Latias in her side, causing her to emit a cry of pain as the bone continued past her, and then again as it looped around and hit her again in the other side, causing her to drop her invisibility as well from the force of the double hit, before returning back to Marowak, who snatched it out of the air and smirked triumphantly.

Latias grimaced at the pain in her side and murmured, "Oww…" before hurriedly flying out of the way of another Bonemerang the Marowak had sent her way without pause. She then gazed down at the team of Marowak and Raticate below her as Marowak caught the bone out of the air and both of them gazed up at her, their eyes narrowed. Latias quickly took the time to call over to her brother mentally, _"Bro, you alright?" _

By now the pain had subside in Latios' chest, although he made a promise to himself to try to avoid getting hit by that attack again in the future. _"Yeah, I'm fine sis. What about you?"_

"_Yeah, I'll be fine, but I was just hit with a Bonemerang, and last time I checked that was a Ground-type attack. Aren't we supposed to be immune to Ground-type attacks?" _she asked confusedly.

"_Just because our levitating ability allows us to avoid most Ground-type attacks like Earthquake and Magnitude, which are delivered through the ground, doesn't make it so for Marowak, whose attacks can be delivered through the air, like the Bonemerang you were just hit with. And just because it's a Ground-type doesn't make it impossible for Marowak to simply jump up and smack you with a bone,"_ Latios explained.

Latias nodded. _"Ah, good point," _she replied.

Latios turned his eyes to face the trio of Ariados, Croagunk, and Pidgeot who were gathering to face him. _"Well sis, looks like now the real battle begins. Do you think you can hold off things on your end?"_

Latias nodded again. _"Yes, I believe I can handle these two. You just make sure to watch yourself, okay, bro?" _

Latios smiled. _"Right, sis. Let's show these clowns what we're made of!" _

At that point, the Ariados' commander decided to kick things off by shouting, "Okay, Ariados, let's give him another Pin Missile!" The Ariados complied immediately, raising its head and once again unleashing a barrage of pointy ultra-thin needles at Latios.

Latios immediately executed a quick barrel roll to get out of the way of the Pin Missiles, and spat a stream of DragonBreath at Ariados in return.

The Ariados and Croagunk next to it hurriedly jumped backwards and to the side, respectively, but not before the white hot flames managed to scorch Ariados' front and Croagunk's side somewhat. However they managed to ignore the immediate pain, keeping their focus on the Eon dragon.

The Pidgeot's commander then shouted, "Okay, Pidgeot, let's get in there! Use Wing Attack!"

Pidgeot shrieked an affirmative, and then, in a tremendous amount of speed which surprised even Latios, she rushed at him, in front of him before he knew it, and brought back a large wing, intending to smack him with it.

Latios gasped and quickly ducked out of the way by lowering the power of his levitation slightly, the wing whistling over him, causing droplets of rain to hit his face on the side from the momentum of the wing. He quickly attempted a counter by slashing Pidgeot's chest with a Dragon Claw, but it wasn't a direct hit, more of a graze, but it still left three small, shallow scratches across Pidgeot's chest which started to drip blood.

Pidgeot shrieked in rage and drew back her left wing across her body, and then brought it forward, and this time, Latios was not quick enough to dodge it as the wing hit him full-on in the face, the force of the blow sending him reeling and causing him to drop a little in altitude. Lights danced in his vision as he hurriedly shook his head to clear his senses. When he had done so, he glared up at Pidgeot, and with a roar of rage, he flew up at her, his right claw out at his side, glowing as he powered up a Dragon Claw.

Pidgeot was prepared to meet him, though; as Latios came at her, he swung his right claw in a powerful sweep at her head, but she managed to duck under it just in time. Latios, undaunted, brought his left claw up to bear, and swung that at her, but Pidgeot, with a skillful bit of flying, avoided it by pushing backwards just as the claw swiped across, just millimeters from touching her chest. Wasting no time, she then rushed Latios at the super-sonic speeds of an Aerial Ace, crashing into him and sending both of them flying forward, ending with Pidgeot slamming Latios up against a tree behind him, her talons holding him up against the tree trunk. Latios cried in pain before growling in rage as his eyes glowed white, surrounding Pidgeot with a blue psychic aura, and proceeded to send her rocketing away from him with a powerful blast of psychic energy, making her impact the hard stone ground below and skid along it for a good ten feet as the Grunts and Oakley watched in shock. Latios flew forward, shaking off the numbness from the impact. While that impact hurt, he still felt like he could take a lot more. With a fierce battle cry, he faced off against Croagunk and Ariados while Pidgeot tried to get up, shaking off the cobwebs of the impact.

Meanwhile, Latias kicked off her battle by flying forward at Marowak, her wings shining with the glow of Steel Wing, but Marowak nimbly dodged out of the way in time as Latias whooshed by him and Raticate, Latias quickly stopping and turning around to face them after her missed attack.

The Marowak's commander shouted, "Alright, Marowak, Bonemerang, now!" Marowak then brought the bone back over its shoulder and released it at Latias. But Latias smirked and said, "Oh, no, I'm not getting caught by that again." Her eyes then glowed and all of a sudden, the bone stopped in mid-air of its own accord, surrounded by a blue aura. Marowak and his commander's jaws dropped open in disbelief. Latias just grinned and shouted, "Take this!" and sent the bone flying back towards Marowak at an increased speed. Marowak was too stunned to react as the bone promptly clocked him right in the gourd, causing him to fly off his feet and land hard on his back on the rain-soaked ground. The bone clattered noisily to the ground beside him. His commander gave a cry of, "Oh no, Marowak!" in worry. Marowak had been temporarily knocked senseless, but he showed no signs of fainting yet.

Latias laughed openly at her successful and admittedly hilarious counter, but while she was laughing, she did not hear the Raticate's commander issue a command, and did not see Raticate rushing at her with a Quick Attack until it was too late. The Raticate slammed into her, causing her to go flying back a little. She eventually stabilized herself, and glared angrily at the Raticate, who almost immediately regretted attacking, a look of intense fear spread across its ratty face as Latias growled, "Why you little!" before inhaling deeply and then releasing a stream of DragonBreath at Raticate, who could not move in time and was hit by the stream of flames, causing it to cry out in pain as its fur and skin was scorched, and it was sent flying back from the force of the flames. It hit the ground on its side, patches of fur on its front either horribly charred or burned off completely. It struggled to get to its feet as Latias' wings started to glow white, showing she was preparing to use Steel Wing. The Raticate's commander's face went tense with fear; if that attack hit, it would surely cause Raticate to faint, as it was clear that Raticate was now badly hurt and was on its last legs. The Raticate's commander quickly shouted out, "Quick, Raticate, get up! Come on, hurry!" The Raticate, hearing its master's frantic urges, increased its efforts to get up, and finally, it managed to do so, although it was panting heavily and the burned areas on its front side appeared to be quite painful. The Raticate's commander's eyes flashed fearfully towards Latias, who looked about ready to charge. He then turned back to his Raticate and shouted, "Quick, Raticate, use Hyper Fang!" in hopes that the attack would manage to prevent Latias from defeating his Pokémon.

At that moment, Latias charged, aiming directly for Raticate. Raticate, unable to meet the charge head-on, decided to go with its next best option. As Latias closed, Raticate opened its jaws wide as both of his upper fangs glowed slightly, focusing intently on its target, and just before Latias could reach him, Raticate acted. _Chomp!_

As Latias flew by, she immediately turned to see if her attack had caused Raticate to faint. Much to her surprise and confusion, Raticate seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Just then, she became aware of a weight on her right wing. Turning to look over her shoulder to see what it was, her eyes widened in shock and her jaw dropped. There, clinging onto her still glowing wing with just its teeth, was Raticate, its body, feet, and tail dangling freely in the air. Latias' shock was almost immediately replaced by consternation and annoyance as she once again yelled, "Why you little!" She then did a quick somersault through the air, trying to dislodge Raticate from her wing, but Raticate remained firmly attached, the grip his teeth had on Latias' wing not seeming to loosen in the slightest. Latias' annoyance quickly rose at this. "Get off of me, you little pest!" she yelled angrily as she then proceeded to do more acrobatics through the air, trying every move in her flying repertoire in her attempt to dislodge Raticate, somersaults, dives, loop-de-loops, spins, but nothing seemed to work; Raticate still held on firmly throughout it all, his body swinging around comically with Latias' movements.

Below, the two Grunts and Marowak, who had since recovered, looked up at the spectacle unfolding above. All of them seemed to be struggling to hold in their laughter at the sight, but eventually, their efforts proved futile; the Marowak's commander couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing, prompting the Raticate's commander to come out in sympathy, both of them doubling over in laughter. Even Marowak joined in, although he made sure to keep his mirth more restrained, as he still had to keep his guard up against Latias in case she tried to attack.

Latias was getting tired of this, this Raticate was proving to be extremely problematic, plus, despite her wing still being hardened by Steel Wing, she could still feel the pressure of the Raticate's bite, and it hurt! '_The Raticate's bite force must be extremely powerful,' _she thought, '_if it is able to make itself be felt, even through Steel Wing.' _Her eyes narrowed. _'That does it!' _she thought angrily. She then stopped and turned around to look over her shoulder at the still dangling Raticate. Her eyes then glowed white as she surrounded Raticate with Psychic, putting his body under her control. She then caused Raticate's jaws to open, finally dislodging him from her wing. She then brought Raticate around to face her, his body floating in midair. As Raticate stared fearfully into Latias' fierce, glowing eyes, Latias then growled two words: "Get. Lost."

And then, with a powerful mental exertion, Latias flung Raticate away from her with tremendous force, causing him to impact a tree behind him with bone-shattering force. He then fell limply to the ground on his front side, impacting the wet grass without a sound, as he had mercifully fainted into unconsciousness when he had impacted the tree. Latias paused. _'Why didn't I do that from the beginning instead of becoming a laughing stock? Oh well,' _she thought to herself. Latias then turned to look at the stunned Grunts and Marowak, who were no longer laughing, just staring fearfully at Raticate's thoroughly battered form. _"Next," _she said coolly to all three, causing them to shift their gaze over to her. What they saw was a completely different Latias; her normally bright and playful eyes were now hard and steely, and her demeanor had changed from one of reckless, playful exuberance, to one of cold, fierce determination. It was clear that she was no longer messing around, now she was battling for real.

The Raticate's commander raised up his Pokéball, pointing it at the defeated Pokémon and cried, "Raticate, return!" and returned the Normal-type back to its Pokéball. He glanced worriedly at it for a bit, as he realized that he and his partner were both on their last Pokémon now. Gulping to swallow his nervousness, he placed Raticate's Pokéball back to his belt and retrieved his other one before tossing it into the air, shouting, "Alright, Murkrow, I choose you!"

The ball opened, releasing a small crow-like Pokémon into the air. Its plumage was jet black, its large tail feathers giving off the appearance of the end of a broom when viewed from the side, and the feathers around its head were almost shaped like a hat, with a sort of brim running around its head, and three long, pointed feathers in the middle. Its feet and talons were rather short and stubby, and its beak seemed rather large and ungainly to be seen on such a small bird, but these traits did not hinder its battle effectiveness in the slightest. Finally, its eyes were rather spooky to stare at, with red irises and a white pupil in the middle which made them seem like they were burning when you looked at them from certain angles. It emitted its harsh cry as it flapped its wings to maintain altitude and focused its oddly burning eyes on Latias, giving her a wicked glare as it prepared to do battle.

For the first time during the battle, Latias experienced a twinge of fear, she knew perfectly well what a Murkrow was, having seen plenty of them flying and roosting around Alto Mare, and what kind of attacks it was capable of. _'Murkrow is a Dark and Flying type, and I remember brother telling me that Dark type attacks are super effective against us, and also that Psychic type attacks don't affect them at all. I'll have to be super careful when dealing with him, I can't allow too many of his attacks to hit me or I'll be in big trouble. And since I can't use my psychic attacks, I'll have to be a little more creative in dealing with him. There's also still that Marowak to deal with, which could pose a problem if I have to divide my attention between the two of them.' _She paused and then a grin crept over her face. _'Still, that doesn't mean that Marowak is invulnerable to my psychic attacks." _She then focused back on the battle at hand, ready to get back into the fray.

On the other side of the battlefield, Latios hurriedly dodged another barrage of Pin Missiles from Ariados, and then wasting no time, rushed forward and engaged Ariados in close combat. Ariados rose up to meet him, his upper body raising up in the air, his front two legs in the air. They each exchanged a flurry of blows, some of them hitting (mostly grazes, though), but most missing. Latios' claws gave Ariados a slash across its upper abdomen, opening up three big cuts along its upper exoskeleton, causing oddly colored blue blood to leak out of them, and Aridos' legs opened up a small cut across Latios' left cheek, and another across the upper portion of his chest, but they weren't that serious. After another flurry of slashes, Latios managed to land another swipe clean across the space in between Ariados' eyes, opening up three more slash marks across Ariados' face, causing more blue blood to leak across Ariados' eyes.

Meanwhile, Annie had finally shaken off her dazed state and had gotten back to her feet as she now walked over to stand beside Oakley, who was watching the exchange intensely, a hand clutched around her middle, which was still in quite a bit of pain, which caused Annie to grimace with every step. As she reached her sister's side, Oakley made a quick non-committal glance over at her sister before turning back to the battle. "Back among the living, I see?" she tossed condescendingly over at her sister.

Annie's eyes narrowed and she bit her lip to avoid the nasty comment she had been about to say. "Yeah," she growled contemptuously. "Thanks for all your help, sis," she said as sarcastically as possible.

"Oh, shut up." Oakley said back.

The Ariados' commander could see that Ariados was losing the exchange; it wouldn't last much longer in a head-on exchange, so he quickly called out, "Ariados, use Fury Swipes! Get Latios to back off!"

Ariados immediately complied, as the tips of its front legs began glowing before all of a sudden, launching into a mass flurry of attacks, almost too fast for the eye to track, lunging forward at Latios.

Latios was immediately driven back by the fierce onslaught; no matter how many of the attacks he dodged, they were all coming at him so fast, it was almost impossible to dodge them all. A few of the hits landed, creating small scratches across his chest, before he finally broke off his contact with Ariados and flew back to get some space between them.

Latios panted as he fought to catch his breath as Ariados did the same, each of them glaring at the other. Latios grimaced inwardly; this particular matchup certainly didn't bring back any pleasant memories…

_He was lying on the cold hard stone of the garden's walkway, a glowing red capture device wrapped around him, which was draining his strength. As he grimaced in pain, he was suddenly aware of a presence near his side. As he turned to see who it was, he immediately shuddered and drew back as much as he could in fear. Standing right next to him, eyeing him with a cold, hungry gaze, was Oakley's Ariados._

"_You know," Ariados began in a low, grating, insect-like voice, "I don't think I've ever tasted dragon blood before. But I bet it tastes absolutely exquisite, more so coming from a Legendary Pokémon." Ariados' eyes danced with a scary eagerness as she skittered a little closer to Latios' side, causing him to try to scoot even further away from the predatory spider. This only seemed to amuse Ariados, who gave a dark chuckle before saying, "I'm sure my master wouldn't mind if I opened up a minor cut here and there along your body so I can taste it for myself," as she reached out a spindly right leg towards Latios' neck area._

_Latios thrashed about, trying to scoot away while at the same time straining his neck back and away from Ariados' slowly approaching leg. "Aaaahhhh! Stay away from me! Don't touch me!" he yelled fervently and fearfully, struggling helplessly against his plasma net restraints._

_If Ariados had a mouth instead of mandibles, she would've smirked. "Struggling won't do you a bit of good, my tasty-looking dragon. There's no chance of escape for you now."_

_As Ariados' leg got closer to Latios' neck, Latios finally couldn't take it anymore. With a snarl, his head lunged at Ariados' leg, who only just barely brought her leg back in time to avoid Latios' snapping jaws as he closed them over the area her leg had been just a second ago. His eyes blazed fury and hatred at Ariados, who couldn't help but quail slightly under the intense, burning glare of Latios. Recovering quickly though, Ariados said, "Well, well, well, looks like we got ourselves a feisty one here! Good. I like it when my prey puts up a fight."_

_Just then, Annie's Espeon, who was sitting serenely nearby, called out, "That's enough, Ari." in a stern, reprimanding tone._

_Ariados paused and turned back to look at her partner in crime. "Aw, Espy, but I was having fun!" she whined._

_Espeon turned to look at Ariados, her eyes narrowed. "I said, that's enough. We need Latios to be in a fit state for transport back to the masters' boss, and that won't happen with him thrashing about in a mindless rage because of your tormenting him. You know the parameters of the mission," she said crossly._

_Ariados gave a disappointed sigh. "Fine," she grumbled. She then turned back to Latios and said, "Guess it's your lucky day, little dragon. You get to keep your blood… for now." _

_Latios glared at his captors. "You… you just wait until my sister gets back!" he growled._

_Both Ariados and Espeon laughed openly at this. "Oh really? I seem to recall that she fled from here like a whipped Houndour!" Espeon said haughtily._

"_You'll see. She'll come back, and she'll be bringing some help along with her!" Latios shouted back angrily at Espeon's tone._

_Instead of causing them to worry, as Latios had hoped, this comment actually made Ariados' eyes dance with delight. "Really? Oh great, that's perfect, then! Maybe I can eat them instead!" she said eagerly. Her eyes then glowed with a much more sinister tone as she said, "And then maybe afterwards, once we have captured your sister, while no one is looking, perhaps I'll be able to sample her as well. I'll bet her blood would taste much sweeter than yours," she said chillingly._

_Latios' eyes went wide with fear, only to be replaced seconds later by irrepressible fury as he thrashed against his restraints, lunging with all of his strength at Ariados, wanting to rip her, tear her, utterly _annihilate _her. His eyes were crazed, and were filled with the most intense fury you could imagine. "YOU BITCH!" he screamed at her. "NO ONE THREATENS MY SISTER, YOU HEAR ME? NO ONE! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" _

_Ariados laughed openly at him, only enraging him further. She then glared at him, not backing away from his crazed, rage-filled look. "I'd like to see you try, little dragon," she said contemptuously at him before turning away from him and heading back over to Espeon's side._

_Latios continued to thrash against his restraints as he continued to scream his rage at his captors. "I'LL KILL YOU, YOU HEAR ME? I'LL KILL YOU _BOTH_! I'LL TEAR YOUR GODDAMN THROATS OUT! I'LL RIP YOUR EYEBALLS OUT OF THEIR SOCKETS AND MAKE YOU EAT THEM! I'LL TEAR YOU BOTH INTO LITTLE PIECES AND FEED YOU TO THE SHARPEDO! YOU ARE DEAD! DEAD!"…_

Latios quickly pushed the memory back and brought his focus back to the battle. Once again targeting Ariados, his wings started to glow as he made ready a Steel Wing, and he rushed forward at Ariados, aiming for him on his left side.

Ariados saw the attack coming, however, and jumped out of the way, but not quite fast enough to avoid the extremely fast dragon-type, and was grazed along his left flank along his abdomen, which immediately started to sting like hell as it left a thin bloodied line.

Latios turned around and prepared to face Ariados again, but before he begin to plan his next move, he was suddenly hit in his left side by a sharp, searing jolt of pain which seemed to run across the entire length of his body from the point of origin.

Latios cried out in pain and looked down and to his left to see what the cause of it was. He was both angry and annoyed to find out that the cause of the pain was Croagunk, who had stuck him in his left side with a powerful Poison Jab attack. The anger was at himself, for letting himself become so distracted by Ariados and Pidgeot that he completely forgot about Croagunk, and the annoyance was, well, based on the simple fact that it _was _Croagunk who had attacked him.

And now, Croagunk was stranded out in no-man's land, so to speak, with nothing in between him and an extremely pissed psychic dragon (_very _bad position for a Poison/Fighting type), which Croagunk only just realized the moment after he had made his attack, as he fearfully began to back away from Latios, his arms held up in a placating gesture, but it was all for naught. Latios' eyes began to glow and Croagunk found himself engulfed in a blue aura as he lost control of his body and was lifted off the ground, and with an extremely powerful mental exertion, Latios flung Croagunk away from him, causing him to impact with (yes, you guessed it) one of the humongous oak trees on either side of the altar with tremendous force. Croagunk gave one last cry of pain before falling limply to the ground, the doubly effective Psychic attack knocking him out for good this time.

Latios' eyes returned to their normal color as he started to turn his attention back to Ariados. "That'll teach him not to sneak…" he began, but just then, he was shocked to see Ariados lunging up towards him, mandibles held wide, aiming for his neck. In the space of a second, a surge of adrenalin coursed through Latios as his eyes went wide, bringing his claws up in a flash to defend himself, but that was all he had time for before Ariados' mandibles closed around his neck, or attempted to, as Latios' claws were now held in between mandible and neck, preventing them from closing around his neck, a move which would've certainly spelled the end of the battle for Latios. Now he was stuck in a fervent power struggle between himself and Ariados, Ariados struggling to break Latios' grip on his mandibles and close them the rest of the way over his neck, Latios fighting fervently to pull Ariados' deadly mandibles off of him, two combatants struggling to overcome each other in a test of strength and will as the rain poured down around them and lightning cracked the sky, highlighting the struggle between aggressor and defender.

Meanwhile, Latias started off the second phase of her battle by firing a stream of DragonBreath straight at Murkrow, but the Murkrow's commander was ready and quickly issued, "Murkrow, use Faint Attack!"

Murkrow cawed an affirmative before he was suddenly engulfed by the white-hot flames. But for some reason, no shriek or caw of pain could be heard.

Latias cut off the stream of DragonBreath to see what kind of damage she had done… only to find to her immense shock and confusion that the Murkrow had abruptly disappeared!

'_What the… where did it go?' _she thought to herself while looking around for any sign of the crow-like Darkness Pokémon. She couldn't have burned it to a crisp; her flames weren't _that _strong… were they?

But all of a sudden, her question was answered as she was suddenly hit in the side, causing the most intense pain she had ever felt in her life to course through her body, causing her to scream in pain as the aftereffects of the super-effective Dark type move rippled through her body and mind. She gritted her teeth and clutched her side where the attack had impacted her, remarking, _'So that's what getting hit by a Dark-type attack feels like… it hurts almost as much as brother described. This pain is unlike anything I've ever felt before! One thing's for certain, I can't allow too many more of those attacks to hit me.' _She then turned her gaze back to where it had been originally, where, surprise, there was Murkrow flapping loftily where she had thought she had incinerated him, grinning smugly (or as much as a bird could with its beak), and now proceeding to infuriatingly stick its tongue out at her. Latias' blood boiled at the taunt, almost making her want to charge and wipe that triumphant smirk (or again, the bird equivalent of one) off of that stupid crow's face. But just in time, she remembered her brother's words to her, about how she should never rise to someone's taunts in battle, as that would just allow her opponent to better take advantage of her. Thus calmed down, Latias realized that she needed to think of something that would allow her to take Murkrow by surprise, since she couldn't use Psychic to immobilize him due to him being a Dark type, and she couldn't risk getting in close when he had a bead on her, as he could probably dodge every close-quarters attack she threw at him, due to his small size. _'Gotta think of something,' _she told herself. She then narrowed her eyes at her two opponents before her. _'Until then, I've gotta hold these two off as best I can, and try not to take too much damage from that Murkrow,' _She then flew in to engage her opponents once again, while her mind tried to come up with a solution to her Murkrow problem.

Latios and Ariados continued to struggle against one another, neither one of them seeming to get an edge in the power struggle.

However, Latios' arms were now starting to feel numb. He could feel his strength diminishing with each passing second. Holding off Ariados was taking a lot of energy out of him, he couldn't keep this up forever, he needed to get the infernal bug off of him!

He opened his eyes to glare at Ariados', his teeth bared, his claws the only thing held between him and an almost certain end to the battle for him. As he glared his defiance at Ariados, his mind then turned to his sister, who he knew was giving her all on her side of the battle, and that she was doing it because she cared about him, wanted to protect him, just as much as cared for and wanted to protect her. She was fighting to prove herself to him, this he also knew, wanted to prove herself capable in his eyes, that she could be just as strong and brave as he. If he fell now, there would be nothing to stop the rest of Team Rocket's Pokémon from ganging up on her, and they most certainly would capture her, as well. There would be nothing to stop them from hurting her; he wouldn't be able to protect her. He could _not _allow that to happen, he had vowed long ago that he would always be there to protect her. He could not fail her now, not now, not ever! He could not fall here!

A large burst of hidden power suddenly coursed through Latios, seeming to come up from his very soul. Suddenly, to the immense shock of Ariados and the humans onlooking, the mandibles that were nearly closed around Latios' neck suddenly seemed to be moving outwards as Latios' claws strained against them. As the draconic power coursed through him, a low growl started to build up in Latios' throat, which eventually transitioned to a full-throated roar as Ariados' mandibles inevitably came apart, unable to resist against such immense power.

As Latios held Ariados' mandibles apart, he then pulled them up and away from his neck. Now with Ariados' head and mandibles away from him, with Ariados' chin looking upwards, Latios then made an almost impossibly fast transition, quickly letting go of Ariados' mandibles and giving a two-fisted claw strike to the bug's vulnerable chin, sending Ariados reeling backwards.

Then, wasting no time, Latios followed up by quickly gathering his mental powers, his eyes glowing a searing white, and then, pushing his left claw outwards, he released the psychic force he had built up, sending a wave of invisible psychic energy towards Ariados, which collided dead-on, sending the spider Pokémon flying backwards before hitting the ground, tumbling and sliding across it, before finally having its progress halted by colliding with the base of a tree. It lay against the tree, its body severely injured in multiple spots, giving every indication that it had fainted. The Ariados' commander shouted out, "Oh shit, Ariados!" in almost-faux worry.

Latios panted to regain his breath and to get his thoughts under control. The sudden burst of power he had just felt had vanished from his body almost as suddenly as it came, leaving in its wake a sense of weakness and making Latios feel quite exhausted. Still, he was glad he had been able to power out of that situation. Although that struggle had taken a bit out of him, Latios knew he had to stay strong, as he had a feeling that this battle was far from over.

Almost as if to prove his point, Latios suddenly sensed a presence coming at him from behind. He quickly adjusted his levitating trajectory to float higher, just in time to avoid the recovered Pidgeot's Quick Attack.

As Pidgeot broke off her attack and wheeled around to face him, Latios fired a stream of DragonBreath downwards at her.

Showing the skill in flying for which her species were renowned for, Pidgeot executed a quick barrel roll in mid-air, avoiding the white-hot flames almost completely, save for some minor scorching on the tip of her right wing. Wasting no time, Pidgeot then gave one tremendous diagonal flap of her wings, which sent her flying upwards and towards Latios, giving more flaps as she went to increase her momentum.

Latios gritted his teeth and fired off another burst of DragonBreath at the incoming Pidgeot, who dodged it effortlessly using a graceful mid-air loop and continued towards him, shrieking her battle cry and preparing herself for close combat.

'_Crap, she's getting too close!' _Latios thought to himself. Seeing there was no more time to fire another DragonBreath, he assumed a combative stance, ready to meet the oncoming Pidgeot, himself roaring a fierce battle cry.

They collided amidst a shower of wet feathers, Latios avoiding the brunt of Pidgeot's charge by moving sideways at the last second and grappling her by the side as she passed, sending them both spinning in mid-air. Now in close, Latios wasted no time in raising his left claw and slashing Pidgeot across the black marking around her right eye, just below the eye itself, clawing three rather deep grooves across that spot which started to bleed freely. Pidgeot shrieked in pain and brought it back by savagely pecking Latios several times in the middle of his forehead, causing Latios to break off the engagement lest one of the pecks find his eyes, and then he and Pidgeot circled each other, each of them judging the other, looking for any sort of weakness that they could exploit.

As the mid-air battle raged overhead, the Ariados' commander hurried over to check on his Pokémon's condition, and the Croagunk's commander returned his fainted Pokémon to its Pokéball. Reaching for the last Pokéball on his belt, he was suddenly stopped by a hand on his. He turned to look at his commander, Oakley, who had a stony look on her features. "No. Save it. Better to wear down the Eon twins as much as possible before calling in our power players. Let's let the battle unfold as is for right now, and if the Eon twins prove victorious, _then _we'll bring in the big guns. Sound good?" she said.

The Grunt blinked once before replying, "Sure, whatever you say, boss," and brought his hand back to his side. Oakley then turned her attention back to the battle above.

Meanwhile, on Latias' side of the battle, things weren't going so good for the red dragoness. So far, any attacks she had sent Murkrow's way had been nimbly dodged, and she still hadn't thought of a way to beat the Dark-type. She only barely managed to avoid the counter-attacks sent her way by both Murkrow and Marowak, and it was getting tiring for her. She was lucky that Murkrow had been unable to land any more Dark-type attacks so far, but unfortunately, that luck was about to run out.

Latias gritted her teeth as she charged up another Steel Wing attack, and proceeded to charge at Murkrow, but Murkrow, being ever so annoyingly nimble, dodged the attack with ease, and before Latias could recover, she was hit in the side, and once again the tremendous pain of the super-effective Faint Attack coursed through her, causing her to scream in pain.

Finally, mercifully, the pain subsided, although Latias could still feel the aftereffects of the dark energies coursing through her body, making her feel nauseous. She fought the urge to throw up as she gathered her wits just in time to avoid a spiraling Bonemerang attack from the opportunistic Marowak, quickly dodging to the left as the bone spun past her and back, returning to its master, who snatched it out of the air.

Latias panted openly as she could feel sweat run across her face, masked by her feathers and the falling rain. Her face felt hot and her entire body felt weak and numb, and her very arms felt like they could drop off her body. She realized that she was in quite a predicament; she needed some way to turn this battle around, and fast! _'But how?' _she asked herself, _'How can I possibly turn this battle around when they can dodge every move I throw at them and counter attack so effectively?'_

Just then, a flash of lightning lit up the sky, illuminating the battlefield briefly with its stark white light before fading out of existence, but in that flash of lightning, Latias suddenly found that there _was _a way in which she could turn the battle around! The answer was impossibly simple: she needed a distraction. And that bright flash of lightning had provided with the perfect idea on how to create said distraction, but in order to accomplish it, she needed her brother's help.

Using her telepathic link with her brother, Latias called mentally over to him, _"Brother, can you hear me?" _

Latios was momentarily caught off-guard by his sister's sudden words in his mind, but thankfully, not enough to distract him from his battle with Pidgeot. He carried on his battle with the Bird Pokémon while answering, _"Yes, I can hear you, Latias. What's wrong? Are you alright?" _

Latias winced a little at the pain which was still only gradually residing from her body and replied, _"Ugh, yeah, bro, I'll be fine, but things aren't going so well for me over here, none of my attacks are landing. I need your help, bro."_

Latios quickly ducked under a Wing Attack sent his way and countered with a Dragon Claw of his own before replying, _"Uh, I'm a little occupied at the moment, sis. I don't think I can break free from it right now." _

Latias quickly flew out of the path of an incoming Bonemerang herself and said back, _"I'm not asking you to come over and help me with my battle, I just need your help in setting up a… distraction, so to speak."_

"_A distraction? What do you mean? What kind of distraction?" _Latios asked quizzically, his eyes still locked on Pidgeot so as not to lose her from his sight for a single second.

"_I need you to fire a Luster Purge at my side of the battlefield. The plan is that the light from the Luster Purge will blind Murkrow and Marowak, and while they're distracted, I'll turn invisible. Then I'll be able to land attacks more easily, as they won't see me coming," _Latias explained.

"_Wait, did you say a Murkrow? Latias, you know we're weak against Dark-types! Are you sure you're all right?" _Latios asked worriedly.

"_Ugh, didn't I just say I'll be fine, bro?" _Latias said frustratingly. _"I've taken a few hits, but it's nothing I can't handle. But it's proving hard to land attacks on Murkrow, he's too small and fast for me to hit. That's why I need your help. Now, can you please help me?" _

Latios sighed mentally. _"Okay, sis, I'll help, just one sec,"_ he replied.

Latios then focused his attention completely back on Pidgeot as the Bird Pokémon charged at him with a Wing Attack. With his swift maneuverability, Latios moved sideways and out of the path of the charging Pidgeot, who flew past him, just barely missing him.

Before Pidgeot could turn around and prepare another attack, Latios' eyes began to glow before releasing a large blast of psychic energy at Pidgeot, which struck her head on, causing her to be pushed back a great ways, tumbling head over tail feathers.

Having succeeded in pushing Pidgeot away from him for the moment, Latios then turned to face his sister's portion of the battlefield and quickly took aim, aiming at the spot between his sister and her opponents. Gathering his mental powers, he gathered them to form what appeared to be an intensely bright purple ball in front of his mouth. Wasting no time, Latios then fired the Luster Purge, the great purple and white beam streaking towards its destination. Sensing the Luster Purge coming, Latias then quickly turned away to shield her eyes, while her opponents were unaware of the impending blast until it was too late.

The Luster Purge struck at the point Latios was aiming at, directly between Latias and her opponents, and immediately a bright searing light erupted around the impact zone, temporarily blinding Murkrow and Marowak as well as their commanders as they instinctively turned away from the bright flash. The blast also created a great blast of wind and a small storm of debris which flew out from the point of impact, showering Marowak and the two Grunts with bits of dirt and stone (Murkrow was flying too high up to experience any debris). And while her opponents were distracted, Latias quickly turned invisible once again and flew off to the side of the battlefield.

Finally the flash dissipated, and Murkrow and Marowak were finally able to see again, but when they turned to face where Latias had been, they were shocked to see that Latias was no longer there.

The Pokémon's commanders were even more shocked. "Wha… where'd she go? She was just there a second ago!" one of them shouted.

Suddenly the other Grunt realized with a sense of dread and fear what had just happened. "Oh crap… I think she's turned invisible on us again! That flash of light was meant to distract us so we wouldn't see her turn invisible!"

The first Grunt's eyes went wide with fear. "Oh, fuck… we're in trouble now," he moaned plaintively.

The second Grunt sighed. "Typical."

From her point of hidden observation, Latias gave a small grin at the Grunt's words. _'Oh, you have _no_ idea…' _she thought to herself coolly. _"Thanks for the help, bro, I can take it from here," _she then telepathed over to Latios.

"_No problem, sis. Just make sure to watch your back, okay?" _Latios called back as he prepared to turn his attention back to his battle with Pidgeot.

"_Okay, you too," _Latias replied. Turning back to her own battle, she began charging up a Steel Wing attack, her invisibility thankfully keeping the glow of the Steel Wing hidden as well, and giving a small grin of anticipation, she charged forward at her target, the unaware Murkrow, and smashed her steel-hard wing into the small and fragile bird, doing a lot of damage and temporarily knocking the bird senseless, causing him to fall slightly towards the ground before regaining his senses and correcting his flight pattern. He shook his head and moaned in pain, but before he could even recover, he was hit again, this time from the opposite side. The force of the impact caused rain to fly off of Murkrow's feathers in all directions as he screeched in pain as the hit from the Steel Wing once again caused him to temporarily lose his flight path, causing him to struggle to right himself again.

Latias once again turned around, her Steel Wing still in effect, and charged again at the helpless Murkrow, not intending to let up her attack for a second. She wasn't about to slow down and allow Murkrow to get a chance to locate her and counter-attack; the rain falling down around her invisible form meant that she couldn't stay in one place for too long, she needed to keep moving if she wanted to make the most of this advantage.

Down on the ground, the Marowak's commander pointed frantically up at the scene above. "Oh no, look!" he shouted fearfully.

Murkrow's commander looked up just as Murkrow was hit for the second time by a fast-moving, unseen force. He watched in terror as Murkrow screeched in pain and fell towards the ground before struggling to right itself. "Murkrow!" he shouted fearfully in concern. "Damn that Latias!"

The Marowak's commander said over to his companion, "He's getting pulverized out there; he won't last much longer at this rate!" as Murkrow was hit once again up above. "What do we do now?" he asked fearfully.

"I don't know!" the Grunt snapped back at his companion, as Murkrow took another hard hit above. Thinking desperately, the Grunt decided that the best course of action was to get Murkrow to cover, as he was much too vulnerable out in the open. Hopefully with some cover he'd be able to better avoid and combat the invisible Latias, although it was a desperate plan at best. But with no other option, the Grunt had no choice but to go with it. It was either that, or watch Murkrow get pounded into oblivion out here. And so the Grunt called out to his Murkrow, "Murkrow, quick, get to the trees! Use them for cover!"

Murkrow, hearing his Trainer's frantic command, quickly turned towards the trees located on his right and flapped towards them as fast as he could, hoping that he still had enough strength in him to make it over to them.

As she observed Murkrow flying towards the trees, Latias couldn't help but give a small nasty grin. _'He thinks the trees will protect him? Ha! Little bird, you've just sealed your doom…" _Latias thought to herself as she quickly flew after Murkrow, entering the tree fringe stealthily from a different position than Murkrow had entered. _'This is going to be fun.' _

Meanwhile, the fierce battle between Latios and Pidgeot continued to rage. The two combatants squared off briefly before both of them charged at the other, both of them colliding in mid-air, the momentum from both of their full-body Tackles colliding with each other head-on serving to create a force between them which blew them apart, pushing them backwards. Both of them shook their heads briefly to clear their senses, the rain which soaked their faces (and every other portion of their bodies) flying off their faces in small, miniature droplets before once again leveling their equally intimidating glares upon each other.

Down below, the Pidgeot's commander shouted, "Pidgeot, use Air Slash!"

Hearing this, Pidgeot brought both of its wings back, both of them starting to glow a light blue, and then swiftly brought them down, one after the other, in a diagonal slashing motion, creating two blade-like arcs of pure air energy that sliced towards Latios, leaving in their wake a trail that seemed to cut the very air itself.

Latios, however, was unfazed. Raising a claw as his eyes began to glow white, he then swept his claw sideways, causing the arcs of energy to dissipate into nothingness with a thought. Smirking, Latios said, "You'll have to do much better than that," towards a stunned Pidgeot before launching a stream of DragonBreath at his opponent, who recovered her senses fast enough to just barely dodge the attack.

Acting quickly, Pidgeot once again brought both her wings back before giving them both a tremendous thrust forward, creating a tremendous blast of wind from her powerful wings that shot towards Latios.

As the Gust attack neared him, Latios once again called on his mental powers as his eyes glowed and he released a blast of invisible psychic energy which collided with the Gust attack, causing the two attacks to cancel out, the wind from the Gust attack blowing off to the sides, which caused the Grunts below to hang onto their hats while Annie and Oakley shielded their eyes as their sodden hair was blown back.

Now Latios' wings started to glow as he prepared a Steel Wing attack. The Pidgeot's commander, noticing this, shouted up to his Pokémon, "Pidgeot, use your Steel Wing as well!"

Complying, Pidgeot's wings also began glowing a steely white. Pidgeot emitted a shriek of challenge at Latios, who actually started _grinning_, a dark, malicious grin which thoroughly unsettled Pidgeot for a moment. Her eyes widened in fear for a moment at Latios' utterly cold, intimidating stare. Those blood-red eyes danced with an almost bloodthirsty eagerness; they seemed to bore into her, filling her very soul with fear…

Shaking off the fear (with some considerable effort), Pidgeot then charged at Latios, with Latios doing so as well. As lightning ripped through the sky, the two combatants collided, the raspy sound of steel upon steel sounding along with the thunder as their Steel Wings clashed against one another, creating a shower of sparks. The clash was brief as the wings slid off to the side of each other as the combatants passed. No sooner had they passed each other, though, than each of them turned around, preparing to engage once again, Pidgeot charging at Latios with Quick Attack, colliding with the Eon dragon as another brutal exchange of close combat began to take place.

Down below, the Ariados' commander held off in his tending of Ariados to observe the fierce aerial battle going on above. As he stared at the combatants, blinking rapidly at the rain falling on his face and into his eyes, the Grunt was suddenly struck by an idea that could possibly bring an end to the battle. Smiling, the Grunt brought up a hand and wiped it across his face, wiping the excess moisture off of it, the Grunt then turned to his Ariados and said, "You ready to get back into the battle, Ariados?" to which Ariados nodded in the affirmative. Nodding himself, the Grunt then said, "Good, cause I think I got an idea that could put an end to this battle. Now listen up, here's what I need you to do…"

Meanwhile, on the other battlefield, Murkrow had flown to a point where he was hovering among the branches of a large oak tree, the small crow Pokémon's wings feeling heavy and slow due to his exhaustion as he panted heavily, creating a small cloud of wispy breath each time he exhaled, the air being noticeably chillier due to the rain. He looked around nervously, the foliage of the tree seeming to rustle ominously as the wind and rain impacted the leaves and branches. A streak of lightning lit up the sky, causing the Murkrow to jump with fright and making him change his location, flying quickly as he could to an adjacent tree before hiding within its branches. He then alighted upon one of the larger branches, wanting to rest his wings. He then became as quiet as he possibly could, hoping that his black feathers would help him to blend in with the darkness and that his breathing or even his rapidly beating heart wouldn't give him away. His mind was shielded from psychic detection, this he knew, but that didn't mean that Latias couldn't detect him by other means.

Looking around nervously, Murkrow listened to the rain pouring down on the foliage surrounding him, the sound of the rain impacting the leaves sounding ominous in the murk of the stormy night. Murkrow quickly shook his head, trying to shake as much water out of his feathers as he could, and started muttering in a frightened, panicked voice, "Oh, Arceus, how'd I end up getting into this mess? Why'd my master have to be assigned to _this _unit, of all the stinking… Those two women must be out of their minds; they seriously expect us to fight two Pokémon of legend?" Murkrow ruffled his feathers angrily. "I know I'm a Dark-type and all, but I can't hope to match a Legendary in battle!" Going back to looking around his perch, Murkrow muttered, "All I can do now is hope that she doesn't find me… yeah, just got to stay here, be as quiet as possible… and if she does find me… well, uh, maybe I can appeal to her better nature and all that, and if that works, give her a sneak attack while her guard's down. She doesn't seem the type to hit an apparently defenseless opponent…"

But at that moment, Murkrow heard a voice emanate from behind him, speaking in a tone cold enough to freeze his blood, "Well, you'd be dead wrong there."

In terror, Murkrow turned around quickly, and found himself face-to-face with none other than Latias, who was at that moment looming slightly above his position on the branch, her left claw shining brightly in the glow of Dragon Claw, her eyes hard and narrowed, her teeth bared. "Take this!" she snarled angrily at him.

The Murkrow only had time for a last cry of terror before Latias charged downward at him, her claw coming forward and smashing against Murkrow's face. The force of Latias' momentum, coupled with the power of her Dragon Claw attack, proved to be too much for the branch supporting Murkrow to handle. It snapped in two as easily as one might break a toothpick, sounding a loud _crack _that echoed throughout the garden. Latias' charge carried Murkrow through the snapped branch on the weight of her driving claw, bits and pieces of splintered wood flying from the impact zone as the outwards portion of the branch began to fall alongside the duo, even as Latias heedlessly continued downward, smashing the helpless Murkrow through three more thick branches on their downwards descent before finally impacting the ground at tremendous speed, casting up a layer of water-soaked grass and mud around the impact zone along with the audible _whumph _of impact.

The two Grunts and Marowak stood stock-still in shock and fear, emotions which were also clearly depicted on each of their faces, each of their mouths hanging open in disbelief at Latias' brutal act.

As the last of the mud settled, they saw Latias floating at the epicenter of a sizable crater blasted out of the muddied ground, which was already starting to fill up with rainwater. Within the crater they could just make out the small, broken form of Murkrow, who did not seem to be moving at all. Seeing this, Murkrow's commander was struck with inexpressible fear, and hoped fervently that his Pokémon was not dead.

Looking down on the battered form of Murkrow, Latias gave a small unimpressed scoff and said, "Just be grateful I didn't add enough power to kill you." to the severely battered, and apparently unconscious Murkrow. Then, raising her left claw and giving it a flex, Latias then turned to look at the terrified Grunts and Marowak, her battle-hardened glare almost rivaling her brother's in its intensity, which was quite the feat for Latias, indeed.

Somehow, the commander of Marowak managed to find his voice enough to stammer, "M-Marowak! Use Bonemerang, quick!"

The Marowak, doing his best to steel himself from the fear, then brought his bone club back and forward, releasing in in a spinning arc towards Latias.

Latias, however, was not worried. With a calm confidence, she dodged out of the way of the incoming projectile, which kept spinning forward until it clattered against a sturdy oak tree directly behind her, halting its momentum and causing it to fall harmlessly to the wet grass below, effectively disarming Marowak.

This fact caused the Bone Keeper Pokémon to curse loudly, but that was all he had time for before Latias retaliated by sending a large stream of DragonBreath towards him and the two men behind him. Both of the men's and the solitary Pokémon's eyes widened in alarm as all of them literally dove headlong out of the way to avoid the fiery blaze, the men towards the right and Marowak towards the left. The inferno missed them all by mere inches; the scorching heat from the fire giving them clear indication as to how narrowly they had escaped being potentially burned alive.

As the flames died away, quickly extinguished by the falling rain, both men and Pokémon scrambled hastily to their feet and turned to face the spot where Latias was… only she wasn't anywhere to be seen!

The now weaponless Marowak turned his head this way and that, looking futilely for the Eon dragoness. Suddenly, he was hit with a sense of impending doom; the feeling was almost palpable in the Marowak's mind. The Marowak's shoulders slumped, and with a small, inward sigh, muttered simply, "Crud."

Almost as if knowing where to expect the hit, the Marowak turned an about-face, and was almost immediately struck by an invisible force going which carried him forward at a tremendous speed, until his progress was painfully halted by his back being slammed harshly against the unyielding surface of a tree. As the shock of the impact receded, the Marowak then registered an invisible force up against his throat, choking him and holding him up against the tree's surface.

Then, the air in front of him shimmered, and the Marowak found himself staring into the hard, narrow amber eyes of Latias, whose right claw was held sideways across the Marowak's throat. Marowak started struggling to break free, but already in his mind, he knew it was useless. The grip Latias had on him was strong and unyielding.

As lightning lit the stormy sky above, Latias' elbow began forcing Marowak higher and higher up against the tree trunk, his feet leaving the ground completely, until his head was at a point slightly above Latias, his hands gripped around the elbow held to his throat, his feet kicking helplessly in the air.

Then, almost methodically, Latias raised up her left claw, which began shining with the properties of Dragon Claw, which immediately caused the Marowak's eyes to widen in complete terror as his struggles increased. Holding the claw up in front of Marowak's face, Latias then said in a light apologetic tone, "I'm sorry I have to do this, but you don't give me much choice. I hope you can forgive me later."

Then, bringing the claw back, Latias swung it across Marowak's skull helmet with tremendous force, so much so that it caused a small crack to appear at the point Latias' claw impacted it, and immediately knocking the Marowak into blissful unconsciousness.

With Marowak knocked out, Latias released her hold on him, but rather than allow her unconscious foe to impact the ground hard, Latias courteously used her psychic powers to slow Marowak's descent to the ground, lessening the force of the impact with the ground so as to not hurt him further.

Panting slightly, and regarding the unconscious form of Marowak, Latias briefly reflected on her actions during the battle so far. While battling certainly wasn't in her nature as it was for her brother, she also certainly wouldn't shy away from one, not when her inaction could mean serious harm for her brother, and especially not against people like Annie and Oakley, who she knew with great certainty would take great pleasure in harming her and her brother. Still, she thought with a tinge of regret, she almost certainly wouldn't want to be in another battle anytime soon. She then spared a glance towards the crater she had made with Murkrow and then back at Marowak, realizing that had she wanted to, she could've gone so far as to kill both of them, something that scared her, she didn't want something as dreadful as that weighing down on her for the rest of her life…

Meanwhile, while the final exchanges between Latias and Murkrow and Marowak were taking place, Latios and Pidgeot had broken off their combat temporarily to gain a breather and to size up each other, both of them planning their next moves. Both of the Pokémon were panting rather noticeably now, the results of their bouts of close combat finally starting to wear on them. Both of them had scored some hard hits on each other by now, although Pidgeot was by far the worse looking of the two. While Latios had been scored and nicked in several places, with several painful looking scratches around his face and neck, some of which had a small, faintly noticeable trickle of blood running from them, the results of Pidgeot's fierce Peck attacks, and also one or two spots along Latios' body where Pidgeot's talons had managed to rake him, leaving him with several deep and painful scratches, each of which oozed blood, turning the color of the white feathers surrounding the scratches to the rather pinkish color of washed-out blood, this was nothing when compared to the state of Pidgeot.

Numerous portions of the Bird Pokémon's chest and also the majority of her face were covered in a grim plethora of scratches, cuts, bruises and burns. Several areas of her creamy colored underbelly were stained with blood coming from deep cuts inflicted by Latios' claws. A large patch of these chest feathers had also been burned off when Pidgeot had been a little slow in dodging one of Latios' DragonBreath attacks, causing it to singe her chest, resulting in the unsightly pink patch of bare skin now visible almost in the direct center of her chest. Also, the tips of her wings and tailfeathers had also been scorched by the dragon's fire, burning a few of the feathers in those regions and resulting in those areas being marked with unsightly black scorch lines. But by far, the worst injuries Pidgeot had suffered had been the ones to her left eye and her neck. The eye in question was currently squeezed shut tightly, although that did nothing to stop the flow of blood that leaked past the eyelid, running down the left side of Pidgeot's cheek, giving the appearance that Pidgeot was crying blood. However, if Pidgeot were to raise her eyelid, it would be quite a horrifying and ghastly sight. Essentially, Pidgeot's left eye had been slashed to ribbons by Latios when he clawed Pidgeot across the eye in question, and Pidgeot, not having enough time to close her eyelid, was unable to stop the sharp claws of Latios as they raked across her eye, tearing the soft, sensitive flesh of the eyeball itself. It was quite simply the most intense, excruciating pain that Pidgeot had ever felt in her life, and the shriek of pain she had emitted was so loud and high in pitch, that it had caused Annie, Oakley, and the two Grunts below to cover their ears. Even now, the wound was still sending sharp spikes of pain to Pidgeot's brain, and Pidgeot knew with absolute certainty that if she survived this battle, she would never be able to see with that eye again. She had effectively been blinded in that eye, and considering how important a Pidgeot's eyes were to their species, allowing them to sight prey and opponents over exceedingly long distances, this was a most grievous wound, indeed.

As for her neck, one needed only look at the sight of the raggedly torn skin and the sizable amount of blood emanating from the savage looking wound to get a clear sense of just how serious the wound was. This wound had been dealt shortly after Latios had clawed out Pidgeot's eye, during the same exchange, in fact. As Pidgeot had been preparing a Wing Attack, in an attempt to drive Latios off of her, Latios had then done something that completely shocked her as well as the onlooking humans below. Rearing back his head slightly, he then opened his mouth, filled with sharp, pointed teeth, and then he rushed forward and _bit _Pidgeot hard and savagely on the neck, attempting to tear her throat out.

This completely unexpected attack had caused Pidgeot to go into full-blown survival panic. This was no ordinary Bite attack; Latios wasn't trying to just hurt her here; no, he was trying to _kill _her! Never before had Pidgeot been attacked like this; Pokémon don't seek to kill each other in battle normally! She didn't realize, though, that Latios was in fact a wild Pokémon, and wild Pokémon, unlike captured Pokémon, still retained their territorial and killing instincts that are normally removed whenever a Pokémon is captured. And as with any wild animal, when a wild Pokémon feels its territory and/or its family being threatened, they will have no compunction against attacking and subduing that threat however they can, and killing that threat is the most direct and preferred way most wild Pokémon chose, and for Latios right then, his killing instincts were in full swing, the fact of Latios being a _Legendary_ Pokémon making it seem all the more terrifying.

Frantically, desperately, Pigeot brought her wings forward and buffeted Latios with all her might, as well as bringing her beak down to Peck Latios as hard and savagely as she could on the dragon's forehead, trying with all her might to dislodge Latios' potential death grip his teeth had on her neck, fighting with the desperation of a creature fighting for its life.

Thankfully for Pidgeot, her buffets and pecks finally had an effect on Latios; the Eon dragon couldn't take any more blows without risking suffering serious injury to himself, so, with some reluctance, Latios released his grip on Pidgeot and quickly backed away, but the damage had been done. It was a miracle that none of Pidgeot's major arteries in her neck had been severed, as that would've surely meant the end for her. The amount of blood lost from a severed artery would've caused the bird to rapidly go into shock and subsequently lose consciousness from excessive blood loss. Death resulting from cardiac arrest would soon follow, in the space of five to ten minutes. As it was though, the neck wound was still severe and poured blood at a sizable rate. If Pidgeot didn't receive medical care within the next few hours, she would almost surely die.

Currently, Latios taunted the bird by saying, "How's that eye of yours holding up, featherbag? Or wait, I guess the more appropriate phrasing would be 'holding _on_', wouldn't it?"

"Piss off!" Pidgeot screamed in response, the verbal barb only serving to stoke the immeasurable fires of hate she now had for the Eon dragon that had taken her eye and very nearly taken her life.

Latios merely smiled disconcertingly, the rather fresh bloodstains around his mouth making it all the more disconcerting, and said, "No, thanks. I don't feel like it." He then raised his head slightly and gazed at the bloody neck wound of Pidgeot. "Although, from the way your life is pouring out of you, I very much doubt that you'll even be able to remain airborne for very long now, much less continue fighting against me, and I don't wish to have a Pokémon throw its life away fighting me simply out of a misguided sense of loyalty, so I'll give you a chance: Give up. Quit now and I'll let you return to your _master_," Latios saying 'master' with a clear sense of disgust, "without any further harm on your part. You have my word I won't further attack you if you do so. You've already lost one eye, why risk losing more, just to satisfy your master's evil wishes?"

However, Pidgeot was only paying half-attention to Latios at that moment. Her gaze was much more focused on the activity occurring behind Latios. On a branch situated directly behind Latios was Ariados, who had stealthily crept up the tree while Pidgeot and Latios had been busy battling. The Long Leg Pokémon was now currently spraying silk from its mandibles, shaping it into a distinctly web-shaped pattern, using the branches above and below it as tethers for the web's ends. The work was accomplished with rapid speed, and as the Spider Web neared completion, Pidgeot could already grasp the plan. Taking care not to give any indication to Latios, Pidgeot couldn't help but smirk inwardly. That Latios was as good as caught now, and afterwards… oh yes, _then _she would take great pleasure in pecking out _both _of Latios' eyes, and let him know what it feels like!

The Spider Web trap completed, Ariados quickly scuttled out of the way, nodding darkly to Pidgeot as he did so. Preparing herself, Pidgeot then said to Latios, "You know, I think I got a better idea: How about you just DIE! Aerial Ace!" she yelled before charging forward at Latios, intent on smashing him into the trap waiting for him, her remaining eye focused on Latios' face; even now, going at near supersonic speed, Pidgeot thought she could still make out the features on the Eon dragon's face: The small, narrow, angular shape of his face in general, his teardrop shaped pattern on his forehead, his straight, almost wing-shaped ears, and his eyes, the most striking and intimidating feature of them all, narrow and blood-red in color, an intense fire lurking behind them, and the threat of something discernibly more… _sinister…_

The eyes… burning into her very soul…

The eyes… they seemed to be pulling her in…

_The eyes…_

_Eyes the color of blood…_

_The battlefield seemed to be frozen around her. There was no sound at all, no sound of falling rain, no booms of thunder, no sounds of battle. The rain was also frozen in midair, the droplets of rain looking almost crystalline in their state of suspended animation, almost like the snowflakes, that alternate form that rain seemed to turn into during the winter for reasons unknown to Pidgeot. _

_Pidgeot's body was also frozen, suspended in a state of mid-charge, her wings tucked to her sides, her body straight as an arrow. Puzzled at this, she tried moving her wings, and was shocked to find that she couldn't move a muscle! She tried moving her head, same result. Then she tried her talons, no such luck. Even her beak seemed to be frozen shut. _'What the… what the hell is going on?'_ she thought frantically to herself. But then, her attention was drawn to the figure in front of her._

_To her shock, she saw that Latios was now moving towards her, a sole moving figure in the frozen environment, and as he came towards her, she saw the droplets of rain break apart as he moved through them, turning into countless smaller-sized rain droplets that seemed to shiver and bounce around erratically, as if announcing their displeasure at being disturbed from their perpetual frozen state._

_Finding herself utterly terrified of the approaching dragon, Pidgeot struggled frantically to tear her gaze away from his, to break her body free so as to defend herself, but no matter how hard she struggled, her body remained steadfastly locked in place. Even so, she still struggled, her mind screaming at her body to move, _move_, dammit! Terror gripped at her very soul at the utterly defenseless state she was in._

_Then she heard the sound of Latios' voice echoing through her mind via telepathy, saying, _"It's no use. You cannot break free from this, so you might as well cease your attempts to do so."

_Realizing that Latios was right, Pidgeot finally decided to give up, although her terror still remained. _'What is this madness? What have you done to me?' _she yelled in her mind at Latios, since she was incapable of speaking normally._

_Latios, who was now directly in front of her, seemed to have heard her, though, as he replied, _"Oh, this? Just a small trick I picked up from a passing Pokémon during the year my sister and I were training. A most unusual encounter, I must admit, but then again, he was a most unusual Pokémon. I had never seen one of his kind before, and he never gave me the name of his species, for that matter. I encountered him one night as I was wandering around the garden, and gave me quite a scare, I might add, for he was a rather scary-looking and intimidating guy. Said he was just passing through the area, though, and didn't want any trouble, so I took his word for it. Then we got to talking, and he eventually revealed how his species were the masters of these things called 'illusions'. I asked him what an illusion was, and so he showed me. I was… _intrigued_, to put it lightly. So I asked him if he'd be willing to teach me how to create an illusion, and to my surprise, he agreed. Said something about how I looked like a 'natural-born illusionist'. And so that night he taught me the basics on how to create and maintain an illusion, and although I wasn't very good at them at first, before he left, the Pokémon said to keep practicing them, and I would eventually get the hang of them. As you can see, I did. Considerably so." _he finished with a smirk._ "Still, the ability has its limits." _he added as an afterthought._

_Capable of only staring fearfully at Latios, Pidgeot thought,_ 'A-are you going to kill me?' _she asked in a queit mental tone, her voice trembling with fear at the prospect that her life was now hanging in the dragon's claws._

_Shaking his head, Latios said, _"Kill you? Unfortunately, no. The illusion prevents me from doing so. But I can still hurt you, just not in the traditional sense." _flashing her a nasty grin as he finished._

'How?' _thought a thoroughly terrified Pidgeot, wondering if she truly did want to know the answer._

_At this, Latios gave a cold chuckle._ "You'll see," _he said darkly. He then raised up his left claw, which began glowing ominously. As Pidgeot stared wide-eyed at the claw, Latios said, _"Oh, and if I may offer a final piece of advice, don't ever think to pull a trick like the one you were attempting on a Psychic again in the future. It almost never works." _He then drew back his claw, and before Pidgeot could even begin to scream, he slashed her across her remaining eye…_

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH, MY EYE!" Pidgeot screamed as the pain erupted across her brain as she felt her one good eye get slashed to ribbons by Latios' claw, permanently blinding her… or so she thought. While the pain she felt was most certainly real, the damage to her eye wasn't. It was still perfectly fine; Latios' illusion had only given her the pretense that it had been slashed.

But all that was lost on Pidgeot as she found herself totally blind. That and her pain-racked mind caused her to lose control of her sense of direction as she zoomed by the completely calm Latios by mere inches. Being completely (or at least in her mind) blind, Pidgeot continued to zoom heedlessly forward… straight into the Spider Web trap that was originally intended for Latios, trapping her instead! Even entangled as she was, Pidgeot thrashed around in a pain-frenzied state in the web, screaming, "MY EYES! OH ARCEUS, I'M BLIND, I'M _BLIND!" _along with other incoherent statements and babbles laced with pain and suffering.

Ariados, to put it lightly, was stunned beyond belief. Too busy staring with a mixture of shock and horror at the insane thrashings and ramblings of Pidgeot, Ariados did not feel the pull of Latios' Psychic attack until it was too late. All of a sudden, Ariados was lifted upwards at a tremendous speed, his upper body impacting painfully with the solid, unyielding wood of a tree limb directly above him, causing him to cry out in pain. Almost immediately, he was then brought back down at the exact same speed, his lower body impacting the limb he had just been standing on, a fresh cry of pain emitting from Ariados' mandibles.

Repeatedly Ariados was smashed like a ragdoll into the upper and lower boughs, like a grim and painful elevator ride, Ariados' screams of agony echoing across the battlefield as his body was ruthlessly battered into submission by Latios, the majority of the human observers below watching on with expressions of helpless horror, while a certain blue-haired woman rather watched the unfolding beating with a swiftly escalating sense of inexpressible hate and rage.

Now tiring of smashing his helpless opponent between the boughs, Latios decided to end it. Bringing Ariados forward off the branch until he was floating in open space, held in place by Latios' psychic powers, with nothing below him but a roughly thirty foot drop to the wet, muddy, yet discernibly still hard-looking ground below. Barely conscious, this fact barely registered in the battered Ariados' mind, which was clouded over with enough pain as it was.

And then, as the humans below watched in shock and horror, Latios gave one final savage downward thrust of his mind, sending the Ariados rocketing downward, impacting the ground in much the same way as had Latias and Murkrow, sending up a curtain of grass, mud, and water along the sound of the terrible impact.

When the debris cleared, one could clearly see Ariados lying in the middle of the impact crater, clearly (and admittedly, miraculously) unconscious. Seeing his Pokémon knocked out so savagely and in such critical condition was almost too much for Ariados' commander to bear. Raising his hands to grip both sides of his head, the stricken Grunt screamed out his Pokémon name before rushing hurriedly over to it.

Then, wasting no time, Latios turned his sights on his remaining target. As Pidgeot continued to struggle vainly in her fear and pain-induced state in the web, Latios once again called upon his psychic powers, preparing to channel them into his most powerful move.

Rearing back his head, Latios then opened his mouth as a bright purple and white sphere of pure psychic energy began to gather there. It continued to increase in size, until it was at a point that was slightly larger than Latios' head. It was only at that single dramatic moment that Latios' head snapped forward, and the large purple-white psychic orb flashed forward, turning into an immense purple-white beam that seemed to radiate an intense light, in the attack that was known only to Latios himself: the Luster Purge.

The beam collided with Pidgeot, where it immediately proceeded to erupt in an intense explosion of white light that seemed to radiate outwards in all directions, causing all onlookers to turn their heads away. The impact also stirred the air around it, whipping it and the rain into a frenzy, which was also felt by the humans watching below.

When the light faded, the members of Team Rocket once again turned their faces upward, although in their minds, they already knew what they would see.

In the center of the now considerably blackened web hung Pidgeot, who was completely motionless, her ceaseless thrashings of just a few moments ago now eerily quiet, her wings outstretched, her head slumped forward in unconsciousness. A faint trail of smoke rose from her figure, as well as the discernibly acrid smell of burning feathers, of which quite a few could be seen among various parts of her plumage.

Then, all of a sudden, the web strands supporting Pidgeot seemed to disintegrate, the silken strands' strength having been melted away due to the intense heat generated by the Luster Purge. They literally fell apart into nothingness, and as they did so, so too did they release the support they had on Pidgeot, causing the unconscious bird to fall, first impacting the tree limb directly below her, and then proceeding to free-fall the rest of the way down to the sodden ground below, her outstretched wings serving to slow her fall down somewhat, which undoubtedly saved her life, although her impact with the ground was no less hard or terrible for it.

Nothing could be heard for the next few moments other than the constant sound of the falling rain. The group of humans said nothing; nothing needed to be said, all of them, save Oakley, just gaped and stared in shock, disbelief, and fear. Even Oakley found herself a touch unnerved by the brutal display from Latios, although that was quickly brushed aside by the seething anger and frustration she felt. Her plans for revenge were falling apart before her very eyes! Those two damnable dragons!

Next to her, the Pidgeot's commander raised up Pidgeot's Pokéball and said in a rather subdued voice, "Pidgeot, return." as a red beam emitted from the ball's center and hit Pidgeot, returning her to the safety of the ball's interior. Likewise, Ariados' commander had done the same before returning to the group's side, as well as the commanders of both Murkrow and Marowak on Latias' side.

The Eon twins were now currently floating side by side once again, in the same spot as they had been in at the start of the battle, having rejoined after recognizing the temporary lull in combat as the various commanders recalled their Pokémon. They had taken that time to check on the other, and reassure themselves that their respective hurts were not that serious. Latias especially had been extremely worried about the scratches and talon marks littering Latios' face and body, but Latios had assured her that they were none too serious. _"Besides," _Latios said to her via telepathy, _"from the look on Oakley's face, something tells me that things are about to get a whole lot more difficult." _

"_Heh, she looks like an Exploud who's about to use Uproar." _Latias commented.

"_A most astute observation, my dear sister." _Latios chuckled. Then, expanding his mental voice so as to be heard by the group of humans in front of them, Latios said, _"Well, Oakley, Is that it? Got any more Pokémon for my sister and I to clobber?"_

True to Latias' observation, Oakley did indeed look like an Exploud about to blow its top. Gritting her teeth in anger, she managed to growl between them, "Grr… why, you insufferable wyrms! Nobody makes a fool out of me!"

"_Seems to me like we just did." _Latios observed wryly.

"_Yeah, and then some." _Latias added with a smirk.

At this, Oakley finally lost her cool and exploded, screaming, "THAT'S IT! You think this is all over, you think you've won? This battle is _far _from over, Latios and Latias!"

"_Yeah, we kinda guessed at that." _Latios quipped mockingly. _"Typical."_

"_Yeah, bring it on, you old biddy!" _Latias said insultingly.

"Oh, you may have defeated all of our Pokémon so far, but I think you'll find these ones to be much more of a challenge!" Oakley boasted with a slightly manic smile across her lips.

It was at this point that Annie decided to interrupt her sister by leaning over towards her and whispering to her in a sideways manner, "Uh, Oakley, if it's all the same to you, don't you think it'd be best if we got out of her while we can? It's obvious now that the Latis have improved in combat _considerably_, and I'm not sure if even our strongest Pokémon could best them… we might have lost our dignity, but I for one would still like to crawl out of here with my life intact."

However, it was at that moment that Oakley snapped her head towards her sister, glaring angrily at her and saying, "Shut up, Annie! I don't care how powerful they've seemingly become, I came here to capture these damn beasts and get my revenge, and that's what I intend to do! There will be no retreating, not while we still have Pokémon at our disposal to fight with! Do you understand?" she finished pointedly.

Annie merely blinked before proceeding in order to cross her arms, close her eyes, lower her head, and give it a small shake, before giving a small sigh and saying in a resigned voice, "Yes, sister. But I was just want to make myself clear, this is _your _vendetta, not mine."

"_You should listen to your sister, you hag." _Latias commented telepathically.

Latios nodded in agreement. _"You REALLY should, Oakley."_

Ignoring her sister's and both dragon's pointed comments, Oakley then turned to look at three Grunts in particular to her left side, and said in a cold voice, "Slice them to pieces."

The three Grunts nodded before they each pulled a Pokéball off their belts, their final Pokémon for each of them as well. They then stepped forward and stood in front of the waiting Latios and Latios, who were floating resolutely, determined to face and defeat whatever was sent their way.

Then the Grunts brought their Pokéballs back and whipped them forward, the balls soaring forward before opening in mid-air, as Team Rocket's final combatants were released onto the battlefield…


End file.
